KOTA KINABALU – Two animal activists have filed a judicial review against Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) for killing stray dogs and abandoning its trap-neuter-release (TNR) policy.
Applicants Michele Meyer and Sophia Chan Yuk Oi, represented by counsel Marcel Jude, filed the judicial review at the high court, here, today, and they also named Kota Kinabalu Mayor Datuk Noorliza Awang Alip as a respondent.
The duo, who engage in the rescue and feeding of dogs in the city, are seeking a certiorari order to quash the decision by the respondents to discontinue the TNR policy and to put down stray dogs.
In their filing seen by The Vibes, they submit that the city council’s decision contravenes and breaches Sections 18 and 19 of the Animal Welfare Enactment 2015.
According to their submission, DBKK has opted to murder animals rather than invest in long-term sustainable solutions and educational programmes such as TNR, and it is evident that DBKK is solely interested in “cleaning the streets” of the dogs.
Referring to several news articles from the Daily Express that carried Noorliza’s statements, the applicants said the put-to-sleep method is not a form of controlling the stray cat and dog population but is simply murder, as well as a knee-jerk reaction to a deeply rooted and long-standing issue that has yet to be correctly dealt with.
“This is a human issue caused by irresponsible dog owners who allow their dogs to roam around unneutered, getting into fights and barking.
“The issues are caused by irresponsible dog owners, dogs being dumped, breeding and the selling of dogs privately, in shops and Gaya Street and other markets.
“Dogs being used for security by building contractors, farms and industrial warehouses. None of these animals are neutered, let alone well-fed or cared for, and when no longer needed they are left to their own devices.
“Rather than penalising the dogs, DBKK should be cracking down on these irresponsible owners and issuing them with warning and substantial fines. There needs to be a systematic crackdown so people will take note,” they said.
The applicants also questioned DBKK’s methods of putting captured stray dogs up for adoption, as there is no information shared once a dog is caught.
They added that DBKK’s policy to allot two dogs per courtyard or fenced house is not effective unless enforced, and it is apparent that DBKK is not enforcing the laws set out under the 2015 enactment, as it is not enforcing the neutering of dogs.
“DBKK has the power to enforce neutering for all dogs and cats, issue warnings, and issue heavy fines. Why does it choose not to?
“We request that DBKK be honest and transparent, and put an immediate stop to the pointless catching and murdering of innocent animals, and instead reintroduce TNR as a long-term solution working alongside a Sabah-based veterinary surgeon and/or non-government organisation to humanly manage the stray dog and cat population,” they added.
They stressed that the respondents’ move to abandon the TNR policy – instead choosing to kill and put down healthy dogs – is unlawful and illegal.
“There is no reason or excuse or justification for the cruel actions of the respondents,” they added.
As such, the applicants also seek a mandamus order (an order to compel the performance of a legal duty imposed by law) on the respondents to reinstate, restore and continue the TNR policy; as well as an order of prohibition against the respondents from discontinuing or abandoning to proceed or carry out the TNR policy in Kota Kinabalu.
They also seek declarations that the abandonment and discontinuance and termination or delay of the TNR policy by the respondents is illegal and in contravention of Sections 18 and 19 of the 2015 enactment, and that the resumption of the putting down and killing of dogs within Kota Kinabalu is unlawful, illegal and in contravention of the same provisions of the enactment. –The Vibes, July 23, 2022
