GEORGE TOWN – Twelve animal rights groups nationwide have joined hands to file a suit against the Kulim Municipal Council over alleged animal cruelty, after a stray dog was killed in public in the state earlier this month.
The plaintiffs’ counsel, Rajesh Nagarajan, said he will be filing the suit at Alor Star High Court on Monday, to seek justice as the council’s dog unit personnel has failed to observe the standard operating procedure (SOP) in killing the animal.
Rajesh, who is Lawyers for Animal Rights founder, said the council has been named as the first defendant, while the Kedah government has been named the second defendant in the suit.
“There are already existing SOPs to put the dogs to sleep, and they should be carried by a qualified veterinary doctor,” he said when contacted.
“But in this instance, the council personnel failed to follow the procedures. We must put our foot down in defending animal rights.
“Unfortunately, the actions by the council’s dog unit personnel are just total brutality against the animal, and should not be tolerated by anyone in the right sense of mind.
“We will continue our fight for the creation of better protection, enforcement and safeguard of animals in the country.”
The video of the council’s dog unit personnel torturing and killing the stray dog went viral, causing outrage to animal lovers across the country.
In the clip, several officers are seen torturing the dog at a housing estate.
“The authorities who are in the position to protect the animals were found to be cruel and merciless in treating them, and we have to put a stop to it from being repeated elsewhere in the country.”
The Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer is representing the plaintiffs pro bono.
He had also appeared for a similar case at the Seremban High Court earlier this month, demanding a declaration from the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) that the shooting of dusky leaf monkeys in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan, last month was an illegal act.
Photos of the “massacre” went viral, with claims that Perhilitan officers had killed 20 monkeys at the Seri Sentosa education centre living quarters in Port Dickson.
The case is currently pending at the Seremban High Court.
In 2018, 53,687 long-tailed macaques – a separate monkey species – were killed under similar practice.
Last year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature eventually amended the species’ status from “least concerned” to “vulnerable”.
Experts said reducing the population of the endangered dusky leaf monkeys, or spectacled langurs, could have a devastating effect on forests and surrounding communities. – The Vibes, July 22, 2021
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