(MY) animal have rights

[Guest guest]

Animals have rights too - http://malaysiakini.com/columns/129610

 

Jeswan Kaur

Apr 19, 10

3:47pm

 

Five years ago, when a German Shepherd by the name of Sheena was abandoned

by her irresponsible owner, the dog died a painful death, due to starvation

which led to the failure of her internal organs. The owner claimed he was

busy moving house and was obvious he wanted to get rid of this faithful

guard dog in the easiest way possible.

 

Sheena's abuse and subsequent death caused an outcry among animal lovers who

were all willing to punish the owner themselves if they could. And their

disgust at the way Sheena's engineer owner left his pet dog of seven years

to die never ceased all because the owner , Lien Chong San of USJ 17, Subang

Jaya received nothing short of a slap on the wrist from the law - Lien was

fined a pathetic RM100 in default of two days' jail. He was charged under

Section 44 (1) (d) of the Animal Ordinance 1953, which carried a maximum

fine of RM200 or a maximum six months jail or both.

 

[image: NONE]Instead of taking responsibility for her well being, Lien took

the easy way out and let Sheena die a painful death, leaving her with no

water to drink or food to eat when he moved house. Could he not make any

arrangement to have the dog adopted? Did Lien not know of the existence of

the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) or the

Performing Animals Welfare Society (PAWS) which could have helped him find

Sheena a new owner?

 

What was and is still revolting is to note the zero value and respect the

law places on animals. The Animal Act Ordinance 1953 itself has little

sympathy for animals, looking at its absurd penalty of a maximum fine of

RM200 or a jail term of six months. The Animal Ordinance came under fire

after animal lover Sabrina Yeop, formerly of SPCA Selangor, revealed her

frustrations at the light sentences imposed on animal abusers. Together with

a SPCA volunteer Dawn Peacock, Yeop drafted the SPCA petition to amend the

Animal Ordinance 1953.

 

Since 1953 only two or three abusers received jail sentences and that too

which were never more than two days. Fifty two years later and the situation

remained unchanged when Sheena's heartless owner was only slapped a RM100

fine.

 

The government passed the new Animal Act 2006 but typically the Act was a

cosmetic attempt by the government to claim its concern over the issue of

animal abuse. Sadly, not a single provision of the Animal Ordinance 1953 was

changed. Why? Have the law makers no heart, forgetting how a lovable Sheena

met her death?

 

Animal rights non-existent in Malaysia

 

It was reported that a recent incident in Johor Baru saw five men armed with

sticks attacking several harmless stray cats and dogs that were under the

care of the Johor Baru Humane Touch Animal Welfare Society in Taman Delima.

 

In 2005 *The Star* reported an abuse case by a cat breeder. The breeder was

charged in court for neglecting the cats he used for breeding by forcing

them to lie in small cages alongside their own feces, resulting in an

unbearable stench.

 

If the animal abuse is not heartbreaking enough, the indifferent attitude of

the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) has worsened matters. The public

has often complained that they received no response from the department each

time they reported an abuse. In Sheena's case, the newspapers reported that

the neighbour telephoned DVS three times and yet the department did nothing.

 

Now, why the lackadaisical attitude in rescuing abused animals? Has religion

anything to do with saving dogs i.e. dogs are an issue the DVS has no

interest in? Until and unless religion is used to discriminate animals,

Malaysia's dogs and cats have little hope in being saved.

 

[image: abused dog 2]It is baffling to understand why the government has

little interest in creating stiffer penalty for animal abusers. Animals will

be given no respect by their owners if the law provides negligible

punishment. There are times that the court returns the abused animals to the

abusers even after a guilty verdict is pronounced. This show of no pity for

animals gives out a message to society that it is alright to harm or abuse

animals.

 

More recently, online news site Malaysiakini on March 17 carried a letter

from a reader by the name of M Nisha who wrote about the ghastly animal

abuse at the Kepong Central KTM station. The incident took place on March 15

at 3pm. The writer heard a dog howling in a painful cry and she saw the

canine being tied to the grille of the station *(right*). The dog's leg and

neck were tied very tightly to the grille and a piece of wood had been

shoved down its throat! The dog was bleeding and surrounded by its feces.

 

When the writer confronted the KTM workers they said the culprits were the

Kuala Lumpur City Hall workers because a minister would be visiting the

station the following week.

 

Malaysian style, use people, abuse animals

 

It is deplorable to learn that just to facilitate a minister's visit, City

Hall workers will go to any length to make an impression. It seems they have

no qualms murdering dogs or cats just to cover their otherwise questionable

performances. Everyone knows just how " efficient " the City Hall workers are.

But to abuse a dog or cat is sickening and even more pathetic is the fact

that the minister in question cared two hoots about animals rights to take

the workers involved to task.

 

[image: NONE]Current prime minister Najib Abdul Razak *(left)* has no time

for animals because they are in no position to give him their votes, hence

they are useless to him. That's why as a shrewd politician he devised the

claim 'rakyat didahulukan pencapaian diutamakan'. He has made no mention of

animal care ever since taking over leadership of Malaysia.

 

In fact none of the country's prime ministers' can be remembered for having

had any pets. Their inability to reach out to animals is reflected in the

shameful penalty in the Animal Ordinance 1953 and now Animal Act 2006.

 

If any of the politicians or leaders had any love for animals, they would

have been aghast at the way Sheena was abused and the hopeless punishment

given to her owner. But as animals have no voice, they cannot cry out

against the abuse they suffer, so there is no need for the politicians or

the government to worry about in being accused of not doing their job.

 

I throw Najib a challenge - do whatever it takes to reflect love, compassion

and respect for animals by everyone irrespective of their position or

status. Amend the toothless Animal Act 2006. Be the pet owners or local

council workers, none must be spared. No more abuse of animals to please

VIPs or get into their good books. Also, do not spare local council workers

who are merciless in dealing with stray cats and dogs.

 

End cruelty towards animals

 

If countries like India, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong can

display affection towards animal through stiffer penalties against animal

abusers, what is stopping Malaysia?

 

India is leading in increasing number of convictions for animal abuse with

stiff penalties. One court in India stopped the bullock cart race held

during temple festivals because the cows are beaten with sticks to make them

move faster.

 

While UAE's laws not only protect domestic pets but also stray animals.

Abuse of an animal is punishable with imprisonment of up to one year and a

fine of not more than RM10,000 or both.

 

A few years ago, Hong Kong passed The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

(Amendment) Bill 2006 to impose stiffer penalties for animal cruelty. The

fine was raised from US$641 to US$25, 641 and a jail term of three years.

The government even set up a hotline to report abuse and citizens could call

the police who are given the authority to arrest animal abusers.

 

And what about Malaysia? The politicians here are too busy playing politics

to save their backs to even spare a thought for animals, be they pets or

strays.

 

Like in Hong Kong, a hotline to report animal abuse is needed here in

Malaysia. Animal abusers must be made to do community service at animal

shelters besides serving jail term, all to make them realise that animal

life is just as precious as human life, if not more.

 

Animals shelters like SPCA and PAWS must be assisted by way of funds or land

space to enable them to shelter animals comfortably.

 

Another important move is to educate children from young to show affection

towards animals and to become responsible pet owners. Set up 'love animals'

clubs in primary and secondary schools and continue in colleges and

universities. It is not only humans, animals too need love and lots of it.

 

And it is not too much to ask for a ministry to dedicate itself to deal with

animal affairs, is it? If Najib could upon becoming the country's sixth

prime minister, quickly visit places like Puduraya and Brickfields which are

the prime areas, why has he not visited the animals shelters SPCA and PAWS.

Why did he not set a precedent by adopting a cat or two and encourage his

colleagues to do so? Is it very difficult to work with corporate companies

and reward those who are genuine animal lovers and who adopt pets from

shelters?

 

Obama's pet pooch

 

The government can help sponsor 'adopt-a-pet' to orphanages and old folks by

subsidising the cost of maintaining a pet. Obviously, there is a lot that

can be done to provide animals at shelters a home and family if only the

government is dedicated and committed to saving animals which is not the

case in Malaysia.

 

Having pets does wonders for one's health and Najib must set an example by

giving cats at shelters a home and family. Life is not all about politics

and power, it is also about sharing love with animals, be they cats or dogs

and be they strays or pedigree.

 

[image: barrack obama 201008 01]Najib is beaming from ear to ear having been

given an opportunity to hold a 40-minute long bilateral talk with United

States president Barack Obama *(right)*, their first ever, ahead of the

Nuclear Summit in Washington, on April 12. It is a shame that Najib made no

effort to learn from Obama about caring for animals. For Najib's

information, Obama wasted no time in getting a pet dog for his family upon

becoming the President of the USA.

 

At his first Press conference, Obama was questioned by reporters on which

breed the family was looking to acquire and he replied, " our preference

would be to get a shelter dog but obviously a lot of shelter dogs are mutts

like me. " The Obamas' soon became proud owners of a male Portuguese Water

dog they named Bo which by the way was also neutered.

 

So, Najib and family, please take a cue from Obama and go to the rescue of

the many adorable cats awaiting homes and families at SPCA and PAWS

shelters. SPCA can be contacted at 03-42565312/42535179 and

*PAWS<http://www.paws.org.my/>

*. There are over 400 beautiful animals comprising kittens, cats, puppies

and dogs at the SPCA Animal Shelter in Ampang Jaya.

 

This article is dedicated to my two sons' Timor and Putra for teaching me

about unconditional love and to all the animals out there who bring a touch

of happiness into our lives. Thank you.

 

JESWAN KAUR is a journalist who spent many years writing for the mainstream

media before deciding to 'break free' and put pen to paper to focus on and

fight for issues that are conveniently marginalised by the powers-that-be.

 

Comments from the readers:

 

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by Darrel Damian <http://malaysiakini.com/columns/129610#> - Yesterday

 

I despise Animal cruelty, it's a shame that there are no laws at all to

protect the rights of the animals and prevent abuse and cruelty towards

animals and pets. The government would not be able to do anything about it

at the moment, I just hope that the people would have some form of

conscience and awareness about it. It is true that the government failed to

protect the interest of handicapped, disabled, children rights, even natives

and non-malays.

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by Dr Suresh Kumar <http://malaysiakini.com/columns/129610#> - 2 days ago

 

These politicians cannot even care for the handicapped, disabled and

marginalized citizens, what more for those poor animals. How can these

politicians can even think of achieving developed nation status when the

country is being run by inhumane, imbeciles? These people are only skilled

in continuing the pilferage of state coffers and give empty promises to the

electorate during elections. With such politicians in our midst, the

aspiration to be a developed nation will remain a wishful thinking for a

long time to come. A country with first world facilities but third world

mentality.

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by Yang <http://malaysiakini.com/columns/129610#> - 2 days ago

 

I find this article lacking in clarity. Is the writer talking about

animal rights? If so, what about chicken rights or fish rights? Pigs have

rights too, no? If the writer wishes to talk about cat and dog rights,

please make it clear that it is the writer's intention. Just take a look at

SPCA's website and PETA's website, there's a whole lot of difference on what

is being fought for. Animal rights? or Pets rights?