THE Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) is gravely concerned over the increasing number of abandoned pets in the country. Media reports and social media highlighting abandoned pets are on the rise these days and animal shelters have been urging people not to abandon their pets as these shelters’ capacity to house these animals has been stretched to their limits. It was reported in early June that there were about 10,000 stray dogs in Penang alone. 

Whatever one’s reason for abandoning their pet, it is the animal that suffers most. Knowing they are doing something wrong, people abandon their pets clandestinely when no one is around. Without witnesses, the perpetrators get away scot-free knowing that they can never be traced or prosecuted for their crime. 

Dogs and cats are often dumped on streets, in marketplaces, in garbage bins, at remote areas, on vacant properties, tied to park benches, or outside animal shelters. The fate of abandoned pets is extremely tragic, almost like a death sentence for them. Because they have been left in unfamiliar surroundings, abandoned animals are left to fend for themselves where they may die from starvation, accidents, abuse by street kids, and extreme weather conditions. 

These abandoned animals pose a hazard to traffic as they dart onto busy roads and risk being hit by vehicles. They become a nuisance as they search for food. Abandoned dogs may fight each other or even bite people as they are in survival mode and live in constant fear. 

While some abandoned pets may be picked up by animal shelters, the authorities, or taken in by people who find them, the majority are not so lucky. Abandonment is a highly traumatic experience as the animals wait for their owners to return, suffer in confusion, and get injured looking for a way home.

Cat abandonment is rampant in Malaysia. Abandoned cats do not know how to survive on the streets and become confused, lost, starved, and afraid. Frequently, cats get hit by cars, fall from great heights, or get mauled by dogs. Being domesticated, they do not know how to avoid traffic, hide from the rain, or hunt for food. They also risk getting kicked by people who attempt to chase them away. Abandoned cats contribute to the stray cat population.

While CAP lauds the move by the Veterinary Services Department (DVS) to enforce regulations under the 2021-2030 National Animal Welfare Strategic Plan (NAWSP), one of which includes animal abandonment, it remains to be seen whether this can truly encourage more responsible pet ownership and deter abandonment. 

The NAWSP should be carried out in tandem with long-term proactive measures that should include microchipping and registration of both dogs and cats, mandatory and subsidised sterilisation, and public awareness on promoting responsible pet ownership to prevent abandonment. 

Additionally, tighter restrictions should be placed on backyard breeders and puppy mills. People breed their animals and sell them on social media to make a quick buck. They are abandoned when the animals become unsellable, sick, or too old to breed.

DVS and NAWSP should implement an education and awareness programme through social media by producing leaflets and brochures for wide distribution to libraries and veterinary clinics, inserted into animal magazines, and made available to animal clubs and associations. 

In many countries, pet abandonment is an illegal and punishable offence covered under animal welfare acts of those countries. To this end, CAP calls on Malaysian authorities to take animal welfare seriously and create a law that will deliver on its promise: to protect animals. – October 5, 2022.

* Mohideen Abdul Kader is CAP president.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.