Guest guest Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Canine castaways need HELP! - The Malay Mail NGOs: More must been done to save the dogs before it’s too late Thursday, May 7th, 2009 06:27:00 [image: spca3] <http://www.mmail.com.my/content/spca3> SAVED: SPCA workers bringing home a dog they managed to save at the Selat Kering island yesterday IT’S now a race against time to save the dogs of Selangor’s islands of death. As the death toll rises — the abandoned strays dying from starvation or while attempting to swim back home to Pulau Ketam — various animal welfare groups are finding that they have to come up with a better solution, fast. Before more dogs start cannibalising each other as was witnessed recently. Animal welfare groups and villagers told *Malay Mail* yesterday that the stronger and braver dogs have been seen swimming through strong waters to return to Pulau Ketam, where there is food and water. The smarter ones wait for low tide and island hop in their attempts. Those not so strong were believed to have drowned. A month ago, news that Pulau Ketam residents had placed some 312 strays on three nearby deserted mangrove islands had sparked a public outcry. Villagers have defended their actions as their last humane resort to try and overcome their stray dog problem. There were about 2,000 strays there. Pulau Ketam DAP chairman Pua Kin Lok said: “The heat is on us now, but we can’t wait till the dogs start eating us humans before we do something, right? We’re doing this on our own because the government has not come up with a better solution. We have had at least four cases of children being attacked by dogs. It is very scary for us, especially at night.” Yesterday, *Malay Mail* followed the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Save a Stray (SAS) founder Jacqueline Tsang’s rescue mission but only came back with two dogs. Tsang said: “The two we saved today are for people to adopt. But this rescue effort is big and we need more help in terms of funds and support. “These dogs are foragers, not hunters. Even if there were a few animals here, they cannot live here even if they learned to hunt. Many will die. We are here to educate the people and inform them that we need to neuter the dogs as soon as we can.” Tsang also said the SPCA could use the help of the Klang Municipal Council to use tranquilisers to get more of them. “They are afraid of people and especially cages. We need a better strategy,” she said. Kapar Member of Parliament S . Manikavasagam, who also observed the rescue mission, said: “We need a concerted effort and I’m planning a meeting on Monday with the NGOs, the Klang council as well as the villagers to find the best solution.” *Malay Mail* reported yesterday that Furry Farm Friends principal Sabrina Yeap brought back a puppy last week and she plans to have a bigger rescue mission this Saturday. To date, more than half of the 300 dogs left on one of the islands, Pulau Tengah, have died from starvation or dehydration. On the furthest island, Pulau Selat Kering, dogs were found to be attacking and eating each other. --\ ----------------------------- visit to Death island for dogs - dumped <http://www.mmail.com.my/category/tags/dumped> - Local <http://www.mmail.com.my/category/channel/news/local> - Pulau Ketam <http://www.mmail.com.my/category/tags/pulau-ketam> - stray dogs <http://www.mmail.com.my/category/tags/stray-dogs> There was barely sufficient land for the dogs to stand on Teoh El Sen <http://www.mmail.com.my/source/teoh-el-sen> Thursday, May 7th, 2009 06:24:00 I EXPECTED blood, death and mad dogs chewing on the bones of their own kind. But what I saw yesterday was even worse. Though never a dog lover, there was something that touched this cold heart of a crime journalist. [image: dogs] <http://www.mmail.com.my/content/dogs> RESCUED: The two dogs saved from the Selat Kering island taking a rest after they were put on the boat yesterday Something that made me care for these creatures a little more than I would have expected to. I had followed the early morning rescue team to save dogs that had been unceremoniously dumped on an island some 25 minutes by boat from Pulau Ketam. During the ride, I was thinking that I would be seeing a pack of angry snarling wild dogs, all barking at us, waiting to be rescued. Animals that have gone mad from days of starvation, or from the fact that they had eaten one of their kind. And were just ready to snap at the next living thing that came their way. But as the boat neared Pulau Selat Kering, what I saw was truly a pitiful sight. An island it was, but there wasn’t even enough land for the dogs to stand on! We spotted a cute terrier-like puppy crouched on a branch, looking forlornly at the sea. It looked like that thick branch was the only “land” it had known for quite a while. When workers from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) waded onto a small shore (always wary of quicksand) and placed a pack of feed to lure the dogs, it was then that I thought I saw more in the lives these dogs had been forced to cling to. They were thin and emaciated. Most hardly had the strength to walk straight, let alone bark. In a short while a group of dogs gathered around the food, quickly chewing and swallowing what they could, lest the “miracle” disappeared all too soon. [image: dog swim map] <http://www.mmail.com.my/content/dog-swim-map> And as we observed the feeding scene before us, I thought to myself, what could that one dog be thinking? Of the days he fed on scraps of who-knows-what and if he was lucky, a fish carcass? Of the day he witnessed one of his kind becoming food for the others or how he succumbed to hunger and took a bite too? Of how and why these humans have come here. Possibly to haul them in cages to another prison of sorrow? Or maybe he was pondering the fate of a kinsman, who braved the open sea in search of home, and failed. The wide-eyed dog simply trotted over and joined his two friends to munch on the food. But then came time for action, to stop this “undogly” life for these dogs, and the catchers sprang into action. Coming slowly with a rope, the rescue workers soon realised that these dogs were still pretty scared of humans as they bolted to hide. One black one gave up when two men came and grabbed it firmly. He was brought on the boat and placed in a spacious cage. I wondered if he knew he was the lucky one. He would get treatment, shelter, food, water, and maybe one day an owner who’d give him a warm, fuzzy home. Such hopelessness. Such despair. Such disgrace to life. This, was all man’s doing, and man must rectify this. --\ --------- THE MAIL SAYS: We need a framework to deal with strays - dogs <http://www.mmail.com.my/category/tags/dogs> - Leader <http://www.mmail.com.my/category/channel/opinion/leader> - Pulau Ketam <http://www.mmail.com.my/category/tags/pulau-ketam> - strays <http://www.mmail.com.my/category/tags/strays> Thursday, May 7th, 2009 03:16:00 THEY say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And this was the case of the residents of Pulau Ketam. For years they had been faced with the problem of stray dogs on the island. The numbers were growing, the children were becoming afraid and help from the authorities was wanting. It was then that the locals came up with this bizarre idea of rounding up the strays and banishing them to uninhabited islands off Port Klang like Pulau Selat Kering and Pulau Tengah. [image: spca2] <http://www.mmail.com.my/content/spca2> myRESCUED: A worker releasing a stray dog SPCA managed to catch at Pulau Selat Kering Two months ago, they started a programme offering rewards of RM3 for a small dog, RM5 for a medium-sized one and RM10 for the capture of large dogs. They got the dog-catching equipment and cages from the Klang Municipal Council and in that time rounded up 312 dogs. These animals were taken by boat and abandoned on the uninhabited islands, leaving them to the elements and to fend for themselves in the wild. Dogs are not used to living in the wild where there is little or no food and being on isolated islands, there was nowhere they could go. The result was devastating, with more than half of the dogs having died while the rest suffered from starvation and dehydration. What was even worse was that the stray dogs began eating each other to survive. It was literally “dog eat dog” to survive! These sad tales came to light when Furry Farm Friends principal Sabrina Yeap decided to launch a rescue attempt. They managed to rescue a few dogs but some of the animals could not be reached and some just ran away when they saw people coming for them. The rescuers just did not have the equipment like tranquilisers to do the job. So there are some still in the wild. The intention of the villagers may have been good but they did not understand that in trying to solve the problem they were only making it worse. They may have thought that instead of getting the authorities to put the animals to sleep, it would be a better idea to have them banished to uninhabited islands. They did not understand or know what would happen to the dogs and the consequence of their actions. The pathetic pictures of the dogs would even tug at the heartstrings of non-dog lovers. For a long time the issue of stray dogs has been contentious, to say the least. Local councils have not been able to handle the problem of strays effectively and efficiently. Why, some councils like Klang do not even have pounds for strays. Animal rights groups and other NGOs have also accused local councils of inhumane treatment of strays. Many have condemned the shooting and the way they are captured. They may have a point judging from the reports of such incidences. Something must be done as this state of affairs just can't continue. It’s as simple as that. Presently efforts are stopgap at best. The time has come for animal rights groups, NGOs, animal lovers and local councils to work together to come out with a framework on how to deal with the problem of strays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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