Gripevine

JUNE 17, 2015 marked a momentous day for Malaysia as the Animal Welfare Bill 2015 was passed by the Dewan Rakyat. It proved to be one of those rare bills that garnered support from both sides of the political divide. Animal lovers who were following the live debate on RTM1, spoke of how refreshing it was to see both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat MPs eloquently debate and support the new act.  In the words of SPCA's Selangor patron Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye - "While politics may divide us, let this new Animal Welfare Act unite us." One of the key points of the act is harsher penalties for animal abuse - a minimum fine of RM20,000 and a maximum of RM100,000 or a jail term of up to three years or both, a far more severe penalty than the RM200 animal abusers had to pay under the Animal Act 1953. As netizens celebrated the passing of the bill seen as a huge step forward in tackling cases of animal abuse and neglect, many people expressed scepticism on whe...

Fifteen individuals and four non-governmental organisations lodged reports at the Skudai police station on June 11, 2014, against MPJBT. NST PIX On June 5 a video was uploaded on Facebook showing enforcement personnel from the Johor Baru Central Municipal Council (MPJBT) bludgeoning stray dogs to death with metal rods. Now this is not the first reported incident of cruelty against stray dogs by the local councils, and I fear it won't be the last. Once the heat is off the council, in this case MPJBT, the "old ways" of dealing with the strays will surface once more until a new incident comes to light. As such I felt that it would be best to document all the media reports on this particular case. The objective of this post is to serve as a reference point to all the articles and accompanying links on the "Bludgeoning of the Skudai strays". June 8, 2014 Killing of dogs a 'mistake', council admits responsibility http://www.thestar.com.m...