Mistreated pets: ‘Lodge police reports’

Pet owners have been advised to treat the incident as a cheating case.

PETALING JAYA: Owners of the mistreated pets have been advised to lodge police reports against the errant caretaker of the animal boarding facility, Petknode.

Said Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) founder Wani Muthiah: “You have been cheated, have paid upfront, in the belief that (your pets) would be taken care of.”

“You need to lodge a report,” she told a press conference at a hotel here.

Nearly 200 people, including the affected pet owners and other members of the public, attended the press conference called to discuss about the ill-treatment of the pets.

Yesterday, the owners who left their pets at Petknode during the festive holiday were shocked to find many of their pets abused, missing or dead when they returned home.

The pets were found to have not been fed with food or water for the past nine days.

At least 13 of the pets, mostly cats, died of starvation. Two suspects have since been arres
ted over the case, but have been released late last night.


‘Enforcement very weak’
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) chairman Christine Chin, on the other hand, wanted pet owners to pressure the state government to slap 300 charges on Petknode under the Animal Act – one charge for every pet mistreated.

According to the Animal Act 1953 (2006 Amendment), offenders guilty of animal cruelty are liable to a RM200 fine or a six-month jail term, or both.

Chin also pointed out the lack of confidence in the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS), the enforcement agency responsible for animal cruelty.
“The enforcement on animal cruelty is very weak…

We’ve been working with the department for the past 20 years, but in the last 10, the DVS only prosecuted five (cases),” she said.

“We really want them (Petknode’s owners) in jail,” she said to cheers.

Chaos also reigned at the conference, with some of the public pointing fingers at various parties. A few also raised their voices angrily at the panel of NGOs gathered there.

One pet owner even accused the NGOs of inaction against animal cruelty.
“What have you been doing up to now?” he asked angrily.

Operating illegally

The NGOs replied that they had been active against these sort of cases, and that some of them were involved in springing the mistreated pets free.

But some in the crowd were not satisfied, saying they want to demonstrate outside the Damansara Damai or Sungai Buloh police station in their quest for answers.

Meanwhile, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillor Anthony Thanasayan told FMT that Petknode had been operating illegally since 2009.
He said that MBPJ realised this today after going through its records.

“Petknode has been running its business for quite a number of years, but it hasn’t been paying for its (operational) licence or renewing it since 2009,” he said.

Anthony said that this recent development meant that MBPJ had every right to shut down Petknode.

He also confirmed that he had had a meeting with DVS director-general Dr Aziz Jamaluddin this afternoon.

He said that the MBPJ, together with the DVS, would conduct animal services inspections in the future.
Anthony added that prior to this, council officials had only checked pet shops and boarding places for “external areas”.

“They (MBPJ) checked for building approvals, compliances, obstruction to traffic… not animal treatment,” he said.