More dogs being abandoned than being accepted

Published on: Sunday, May 28, 2023

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There are more dogs being abandoned than adopted. These poor desperate animals run for shelter from both the scorching heat and pouring rain. - Pix by ABC iview

WHERE stray dogs are concerned, it’s never enough what the NGOs and independent rescuers are doing. These heroes, who tirelessly devote their time, effort and financial resources to help and rescue strays, are overwhelmed.

Animal shelters are also overcrowded. The life of strays is unimaginable. So many either die of poisoning, or they’re run over by motor vehicles.

When they are deemed as nuisance, people complain to their local authorities – and that’s it for these poor animals!

There are more dogs being abandoned than adopted. These poor desperate animals run for shelter from both the scorching heat and pouring rain.

When they are hungry, they rummage through rubbish. But they are either harassed, abused or chased away when they seek shelter at shop lots or in residential areas.

They are easy targets for people to hurt because they don’t belong to anyone.

It’s even more distressing for recently abandoned dogs who do not know how to survive in the open. Most look lost and confused without their owners to care for them.

Whatever the reasons, it is inhumane of people to abandon their dog, which thinks of them as its family. Don’t these people have a shred of compassion in them?

How are we going to lessen the sufferings of these stray dogs? How can we tackle this issue once and for all?

If there is no lasting solution to this problem, the strays are just going to multiply uncontrollably.

One thing seems sure – the local councils’ approach and strategy over these past years have failed in managing the population of strays.

Catching and putting them down isn’t going to solve the problem. I would suggest firstly, that all pet stores be banned from selling puppies, and dog-breeding should be monitored.

Only then will the “adopt, don’t shop” approach work. Secondly, owners must sterilise their dogs to prevent unwanted litters. This will solve half the problem.

But getting pets neutered is not cheap, so it would help if the government could organise subsidised neutering programmes.

There are many people who breed cute dogs to sell and earn good profits from the enterprise. Their activities need to be monitored by the relevant authorities. People buy cute puppies, but when the animals grow up to be not as nice looking, they may be abandoned by their irresponsible owners.

Why can’t the local councils and authorities work with NGOs to come up with more effective ways to deal with strays? Please look at other countries to see good practices to deal with the problem. The root cause of the stray problem is humans themselves.

If we don’t have compassion for other human beings, how can we be compassionate towards animals?

Inculcating love for dogs is also more difficult in Malaysia because the majority of the population consider these animals as haram or impure. People need to be educated to tolerate strays. Start with the children; teach them not to harm these animals.

Put up banners to tell people to leave them alone. The strays have a right to life just like us humans. All they want is food and shelter. They are frightened and actually fear us.

Jane

- The views expressed here are the views of the writer Jane and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express.

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