SHAH ALAM, Nov 20 — Selangor’s district and land officials have been ordered to look for alternative areas for an animal shelter which was previously issued a 14-day eviction notice, state Mentri Besar Azmin Ali said today.
Faced with public outcry, Azmin had Tuesday suspended the said eviction notice for the Paws Animal Welfare Association (PAWS), which currently houses 260 dogs and 280 cats.
“I have summoned the district officer and explained, and ordered other places to be found to house the animal shelter,” he told reporters when met at the state secretariat building here.
Azmin explained that the land which is currently occupied by the animal shelter was to be used as part of state development as well as for a Light Rail Transit (LRT) project.
“I have asked the DO and the owner of the land Sime Darby,” he said, using the initials for district office.
On Monday, it was reported that PAWS was issued a 14-day eviction notice by the Petaling Jaya land office on November 10, without indication of any development plan on the one-acre site near the Subang Jaya airport at Jalan Lapangan Ara Damansara.
The notice period did not give PAWS nearly enough time to find a suitable location to build a new shelter and move the hundreds of cats and dogs rescued from the streets.
PAWS President Nicholas Au told The Sun Daily that part of their mission is to help local authorities and the public control the population of stray animals in the Klang Valley, particularly in Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam.
