KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Klang’s city council has denied breaching standard operating procedures during a stray dog-catching operation that left one animal dead, saying the dog became strangled during a struggle involving a resident who claimed to be its owner.

Klang Royal City Council mayor Datuk Abd Hamid Hussain said officers had followed procedures set by the Housing and Local Government Ministry during the operation at Taman Teluk Gedung Indah last week.

“Based on the explanations given by the officers and personnel involved, we followed the prescribed SOPs. The methods we use are either a loop or a net,” he said, according to Harian Metro.

“During the operation that night, we successfully caught 12 dogs with the cooperation of residents. The incident occurred only when we tried to catch the 13th dog.

“As a result of the struggle with the resident who claimed to be its owner, the dog was strangled and died.”

Abd Hamid said the individual should have followed the prescribed procedure by claiming the dog after it had been captured.

He said, however, that the person later denied owning the animal.

“According to his initial statement, he said the dog was his, but in the end, he said it was not. So we do not know,” he said.

“We will leave it to the police to investigate, and further action will be taken once the investigation is completed.

“So far, two MBDK officers involved have been called to give statements at the police station.”

Abd Hamid also defended the council’s capture methods, saying officers had to balance animal handling with the safety of personnel and residents.

“If we caught dogs the way we catch butterflies, it might be different. But dogs can be aggressive animals, so we cannot catch them too gently because they could endanger us or escape,” he said.

He said advance notice of the operation had been issued through the local Rukun Tetangga neighbourhood committee.

The operation involved 11 MBDK personnel and about 50 residents, and was conducted after repeated complaints about stray dogs roaming the area and posing a risk to residents’ safety.

“We receive about 50 complaints about stray dogs every month. The problem is quite serious in the area, and action was taken based on the complaints received,” Abd Hamid said.

He said the council had fewer than 20 personnel available to handle complaints across Klang and had been unable to find a private company willing to carry out dog-catching operations.

“We tried to find a private company to carry out the catching work, but none was willing. So the work has been carried out by council staff themselves,” he said.

“We have fewer than 20 personnel, while there are many complaints and Klang is a very large area. Many dogs are also found in industrial and residential areas and usually come out at night, making it difficult to catch them immediately.”

Harian Metro previously reported that the operation became chaotic after an individual allegedly acted aggressively and obstructed enforcement personnel from carrying out their duties.

South Klang district police chief Assistant Commissioner Lim Jit Huey said the case was being investigated under Section 428 of the Penal Code, which covers mischief involving the killing of an animal.