Guest guest Posted July 5, 2007 Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 Thursday July 5, 2007-The Star Amend act to protect animals from abuse Every so often we read articles about cruelty, violence and abuse, especially within a family. But, sadly, there is one particular member of a family which is often overlooked: The family pet. This is no small problem. Every single hour in Malaysia, an innocent animal becomes the victim of violent abuse or neglect. Our current laws protecting animals from cruelty are woefully inadequate and provide little deterrent for those found guilty of inflicting pain and suffering on animals. Honestly, I feel that it is an embarrassment that the Animal Ordinance Act 1953 only provides a fine of up to RM200. Probably in the 1950s, RM200 might have been a large enough sum for abuse and cruelty, but now we all know it is barely enough. Animals continue to suffer and die because of this. It was only recently that the SPCA handed a petition with 83,032 signatures to the Prime Minister's Department. Among other things, it urged the Government to increase the fine for animal abuse from RM200 to at least RM10,000, with jail terms of at least six months. It also called for policy changes to encourage spaying or neutering and to make abandonment of animals a more serious offence. We cannot claim to be a humane and compassionate society if abuse and cruelty towards animals continue to go on. It is about time the Animal Ordinance Act is amended to reflect the true rights our pets deserve today. UTHAYAN SELVARAJ, Puchong, Selangor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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