SVA would like to wish all muslim friends Selamat Menyambut Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Happy holidays to all.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Knowing The Existent Of Law
Thank you for highlighting the issue. Obviously the Columnist ( The Tired Eye) below, do not
aware of the existent of Law of Sarawak Chapter 32 Veterinary Public
Health Ordinance 1999, Section 73 Prevention of Cruelty To Animal. Borneo Post are suppose to publish an up to date issue or to check with the Department of Agriculture Veterinary Division. Below is the article for your comment.
Animal welfare laws with more bite
by The Tired Eye. Posted on August 19, 2012, Sunday
ANIMAL
abuse and neglect have been going on for years. Yet, it was only
recently, thanks to social networking, that these sick and inhumane acts
have become more publicised. In Malaysia it is not uncommon to
see strays (both cats and dogs) roaming the streets and scavenging for
food behind coffee shops and restaurants. In most cases, we leave them
alone and even share our food with them as they come up to us.
Some
coffee shop owners will also show compassion and leave food for these
strays a little further away from the general cooking and eating areas. Yet,
there are heartless monsters who regards themselves as human beings who
find joy in bullying and mercilessly hurting these strays. There
are also cases of pets that are beaten, neglected, or forced to struggle
for survival. Some are left in unsanitary conditions to live out their
days pitifully.
The recent case of a Somali student who stuffed a dog into a manhole in Cyberjaya got animal lovers in the country riled up. The perpetrator even had the nerve to say that the dog was still alive as the hole was big enough for the dog to get out of it. He
was asked to care for the dog when its owner returned home for a
holiday. If Eye were the owner, Eye would ask that the perpetrator be
stuffed down a manhole in the same cruel manner that he treated the dog.
Right
here in Sarawak, a 55-year-old man was recently convicted under the
Cruelty to Animals (Prevention) Ordinance by a magistrates’ court in
Kuching for the killing of five stray puppies on July 18. He was
sentenced to a month’s jail and made it into the history books as the
first person ever in Sarawak to be convicted under the law that has been
around for 49 years.
The maximum penalty under this existing ordinance is three months’ jail or an RM500 fine. At
the federal level, Section 44 of the Animal Act 1953 (2006 Amendment)
states that anyone guilty of an offence of cruelty to animals is liable
to an RM200 fine or jail term of six months or both.
Many animal
lovers and animal welfare NGOs have argued that these sentences are too
light and it is not often that those found guilty are given the maximum
sentence. And what is RM200 or RM500 (in the case of Sarawak) as a fine when compared to the heinous acts on living beings?
Agriculture
and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar recently announced
that the new Animal Welfare Bill to be tabled in parliament early next
year will impose heavier penalties on animal abusers.
We animal
lovers welcome this new bill, which provides for animal abusers to be
fined between RM20,000 and RM100,000 or jailed for up to three years, or
both.
It is hoped that this new law will minimise, if not put an end to, cruel acts against animals. The
time has also come for Sarawak, which has its own ordinances and
regulations to impose heavier penalties on those who abuse animals. As
mentioned, the state’s Cruelty to Animals (Prevention) Ordinance 1962
has been in existence for 49 years. Times have changed and a maximum
RM500 fine or three month’s jail time are considered pretty mild.
We
also need a law with more bite against those who abuse animals. Be
reminded though, even with heavier penalties in place, a law will not be
successful if there is no serious effort in enforcement. The public will also have to play a role in reporting cases of animal abuse – be it of pets or strays. Mahatma
Gandhi, who believed that speaking out on behalf of animals is both a
necessity and an obligation, once said: “The greatness of a nation and
its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are
treated.”
In this fast changing world, it has now become a
necessity and obligation that we have to undertake by law to ensure that
living beings, other than us humans, are not mistreated or abused and
that the perpetrators who do so are punished accordingly.
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