PETALING JAYA, 5 SEPTEMBER, 2011: An animal lover from Puncak Jalil here said that she is convinced that the issue of animal cruelty committed by pet hotel Petknode is going to another issue that will be swept under the carpet.

According to Rina, examples can be seen from the Serdang cat killer case, the dog killing incident by the Batu Pahat Municipal Council and also the poodle strangling incident in which no tough actions were taken on the perpetrators.

She stressed that nothing much has been done to punish these animal abusers despite continuous incidents that has happened in the country and there must be a stricter law to ensure that those abusers are put to justice.

“And now it’s about 200 cats (being abused) which I believe nothing is going to be done (about it). We should have a stricter law,” said Rina when met by Malaysian Digest.

She also pointed out that the existing law is archaic and ridiculous and should be reformed.

Relating the situation at the press conference held by animal activist NGOs earlier where pet lovers that showed up blamed the NGOs such as PAWS, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) for not doing anything over the Petknode issue, Rina said it was inappropriate for these pet owners to blame the NGOs as, according to her, they are doing all they can.

She said that it is the general public that needs to wise up and open their eyes and do something about it.

Commenting on how long she thinks this issue will be looming, Rina said that the public needs to put pressure on the organizations involved such as the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS), otherwise the issue would die off within two or three weeks just like the Serdang cat killer incident.

“It’s all about yourself. My cats are not involved (in the abuse by Petknode) but I’m here and people need to have this sort of awareness,” she said.

Meanwhile, when asked about the politicians’ role in preventing animal cruelty, Rina said that so far they have been rather quiet about the issue.

According to her, none of the politicians have been playing their role to champion the animal cruelty prevention cause.

She added that the Member of Parliament or State Assemblyman representing Damansara Damai area should have paid a visit as the incident happened at his or her constituency.

Animal activists and NGOs namely PAWS, Animal Protection. Society Selangor (Pro-Team), AnimalCare, Garden of Eden, Save A Stray, Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better, Kucing Terbiar & Anjing Jalanan (KTAJ), Animal Protection Society Penang, Paws Mission, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) today held a joint press conference which was attended by about 200 people who were mostly animal lovers and owners of the cats that were abused by Petknode.

The press conference was held following an incident which took over at the animal hotel Damansara Damai that saw about 200 cats that were left at the boarding facility poorly treated and abused. All of the cats were found to be starving, missing or left dead.


- mD