Video of dog dragged along road in Klang reignites anger over animal cruelty (VIDEO)

KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — A video posted on the Malaysia Animal Association Facebook page of a dog ‘hung’ on the side of a lorry and dragged along a road has reignited anger over animal abuse.

Reportedly having taken place in Klang, the post stated a witness to the incident said that the dog is still alive although it suffered injuries including torn skin.

Malaysia Animal Welfare Association (MAWA) founder Mukunnan Sugumaran, however, said the incident was an ‘accident’ as the dog had apparently been tied to the lorry called in to help the owner in moving out, as well as to transport the dog.

According to Mukunnan, dogs tend to escape whenever put into an environment that is not familiar, and that is what happened with the dog in question which is believed to have panicked and tried to escape before the heartbreaking scenario occurred.

“My personal point of view on this matter is that, when somebody is shifting house, if you don’t have a car and you need to transport them via lorry, you should’ve put them inside a cage.

“It is clearly stated in the Animal Welfare Act 2015 on how you should transport dogs,” he told Malay Mail. 

In light of the conversation it has inspired, Mukunnan noted that while animal cruelty in Malaysia is a recurring topic, the digital age brought along a heightened sense of public awareness. 

He suggested that the government include the topic of animal cruelty in the education syllabus, with MAWA more than happy to lend a helping hand. 

Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better volunteers in action. — Picture via Facebook

Mukunnan said that the punitive measures for animal cruelty offenders at the moment are inadequate and more serious punishment should be in place. 

“Offenders should serve six months at least in prison and they should continue another six months working at an animal shelter.

“After the shelter says the offender has shown good conduct, only then should they be  free to go.” 

“We need a more serious punishment because if a person could afford to pay RM40,000 in a fine, then the person can easily pay their way out and worse, they might repeat it again,” he said. 

Mukunnan added that a year of working at the animal shelter could help create a bond between the offenders and the animals which will prevent them from repeating the same offense again.

Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) founding director Wani Muthiah said among the contributing factors to the rampant cases of animal cruelty in Malaysia is the way the local councils themselves handle the problem of stray dogs and cats. 

She said the inhumane manner in how these dogs and cats were caught sends a message to the public on how these strays should be treated. 

“The authorities themselves project these kinds of message, so people will be think we can torture them, no problem.”

Wani also said that the commercialisation of dog catching by local council and authorities is not helping the problem as well. 

“All the local councils have their own vector unit and they hire pest control companies.

“For each dog, it's RM30 to RM100, and that is the commercialisation of dog catching.”

A dog rescued by Malaysian Animal Welfare Association. —Picture via Facebook

Wani however acknowledged that the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) has been improving and with the revised Animal Welfare Act 2015, is taking swift action. 

For animal activist and I Need a Home Facebook group admin, Joanne Low, although there have been major improvements in the Animal Welfare Act, much more needs to be done in emphasising animal cruelty issues to the public. 

She said the problem of animal cruelty lay within the public mentality towards animals and the careless attitude must be pushed aside for things to change for the better. 

Low also pointed out that most are still unaware of the Animal Welfare Act and the government and media should do more in raising awareness. 

“Take for example the Covid-19 situation, the government reminded the public almost every day not to go out and abide by social distancing and people follow it. 

“So the government needs to emphasize on this issue as well.”

Commenting on the incident of the dog dragged by the lorry, Low expressed her disappointment.

“Basically I think this is obviously cruelty and whoever that did this should be given a fair amount of punishment.

“Dogs or cats, they don’t know what is wrong and what is right, you have to teach them and definitely not in this manner.”