KUALA LUMPUR: A coalition of 32 animal welfare non-governmental organisations, led by Persatuan Haiwan Terbiar Malaysia (SAFM), submitted a memorandum to Dewan Rakyat, calling for urgent reforms to protect stray animals.
The memorandum, titled "Justice for Kopi and All Stray Animals", demands immediate changes to the Animal Welfare Act 2015.
This is in reference to the shooting of a stray dog named Kopi by the Besut District Council on Sept 6 that caused outrage nationwide.
"We are here to demand an end to the killing and inhumane treatment of stray animals. Our animals deserve compassion, not cruelty," said SAFM president Kalaivanan Ravichandran.
He said Malaysia needed "strong laws and humane standard operating procedures to protect stray animals. No animal should suffer like Kopi did."
The memorandum urged the government to amend the Animal Welfare Act to explicitly prohibit cruel practices such as shooting, poisoning and harsh capture techniques and called for clear legal protection to ensure local authorities adopt humane standards in managing strays.
The memorandum also demanded for the establishment of an independent animal welfare board which would oversee local authorities' compliance with humane practices, enforce penalties for animal cruelty and address cases of mistreatment.
The memorandum called for stricter enforcement of penalties, such as substantial fines and imprisonment for offenders, along with regular audits of local authority practices and pound conditions to ensure humane treatment.
Other demands are a national trap-neuter-return programme, the transformation of pounds into no-kill facilities, and reserving euthanasia only for severe medical cases.
Additionally, it advocated banning inhumane capture methods and stricter regulation of animal breeders.
In October, heated exchanges in Parliament occurred over the shooting of Kopi, with Besut member of parliament Datuk Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh defending the council's actions.