Perak mulling use of tranquilliser darts on strays
IPOH: The Perak government has asked all local councils in the state to study the feasibility of using tranquilliser darts to put down strays.
However, Local Government committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon conceded that the high cost of the darts could hamper its use.
"We will look into the technical aspects (of using the darts), whether it is feasible and cost-effective," he said after visiting the century-old Paloh Khoo Miu Temple here yesterday.
Dr Mah was commenting on the call by the Ipoh Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for authorities to use the darts rather than real bullets to put down strays.
The ISPCA said this would cut down the possibility of guns misfiring and hitting innocent bystanders.
The concern surfaced after city council enforcers shot a 10-year-old licensed therapy dog in Taman Merdeka near here, recently.
The dog, which belonged to a 75-year-old retired teacher, was left unattended while she went into her house to get toilet paper to clean it.
In PUTRAJAYA, the Veterinary Services Department expressed concern and frustration over the killing of the dog. Department director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin said the use of firearms continued even after a national seminar in May 2008 and guidelines on the capture of stray animals were issued to all municipal council officers, NGOs and state veterinary officers.
Dr Abdul Aziz said the department had stopped using firearms in 2008 as a means to control strays as it was found to be inhumane.
In SHAH ALAM, the Selangor state assem-bly heard that dog catching contractors engaged by the Sepang Municipal Council had caught 20,000 dogs in one month earlier this year.
"This means they caught an average of 667 dogs a day," said Sungai Pelek assemblyman Yap Ee Wah.
Yap, who was debating Selangor's 2011 budget, said the contractors had earned a hefty RM700,000 for this as they were paid RM35 for every dog caught. He told reporters later the 20,000 dogs were allegedly caught only in the Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi zone.
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