MALACCA: DOG owners here are in a quandary after the state government issued a notice prohibiting the rearing of dogs in terrace houses.
They have sought the help of the Malacca Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to have the notice reviewed, as they do not want to part with their pets.
Yesterday, Malacca SPCA vice-chairman Sunny Huang Tui Chuan called on the state government to review the by-law, which he described as a form of animal cruelty, as it forced owners to “abandon” their dogs.
“With this ruling, owners have no choice but to give up their dogs.
“The animals end up as strays, creating a nuisance,” he said at the Malacca SPCA animal shelter home in Lorong Kapten Nekmat, Kampung Kubu here yesterday.
Huang said SPCA had been besieged by calls from dog owners, who were left with no option, but to surrender their pets to the shelter.
“We are receiving two to three calls per day, with a recent complaint involving an owner in Bukit Katil.”
He said the SPCA shelter home was overcrowded with 198 dogs, which was double of what it could manage. It was not able to take in more dogs, he added.
Huang said SPCA spent RM16,000 monthly on dog food, workers’ salaries and utility bills.
SPCA legal adviser Quek Kia Ping said the ruling would lead to issues, such as animal cruelty.
“With more stray dogs roaming the streets, those who do not like them may abuse them in their attempts to chase the animals away.
In the past, residents were allowed to keep dogs if they obtained their neighbours’ consent.
Under the current ruling, those staying in corner-terrace houses are permitted to keep up to two dogs.
State Housing, Local Government and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Ismail Othman said the ruling was approved in the state legislative assembly. The state government had received complaints from residents of terrace houses, he added.
The ruling was first enforced by the Malacca Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council before it was extended to other local councils in the state.