I WISH to respond to Kashfi Sharifuddin’s letter concerning strays and local authorities (”Please end cruel immediate kill plan” - NST, Jan 11).

Controlling the population of stray dogs and cats should be everyone’s responsibility.

Malaysians should be taught that to own a dog, cat or any animal, is a serious responsibility and not something to be taken lightly.

The owner is responsible for looking after the welfare of the animals he keeps.

The animals should be properly fed, housed and given care all the time, not just when they are useful to them.

The problem with many pet owners is that they do not know what their responsibilities are.

This often leads to, among others, uncontrolled breeding, an increased number of unwanted puppies and kittens, and also an increased number of unwanted and abandoned animals.

Steps should be taken to put a stop to these acts.

It should be made mandatory for new and prospective pet owners to attend pet-management courses.

There should be a law for the mandatory neutering of pets to control the number of pets owned by a family.

This could be carried out through fiscal incentives to private veterinarians or by the government subsidising the cost of neutering.

Non-governmental organisations and corporate bodies should be encouraged, through tax incentives, to build and manage more animal shelters in each district.

These shelters, if properly managed, will reduce the number of strays and do away with the necessity of destroying them.

It is time we Malaysians did our part to overcome the problem of strays.

It should never have been the sole responsibility of the Department of Veterinary Services or local authorities to control strays.

Clarification

IN the letter “Please end cruel immediate kill plan” by Kashfi Sharifuddin of Ampang, Selangor (NST, Jan 11), the local authority mentioned should have been the Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya (MPAJ), and not the Majlis Perbandaran Shah Alam.

AZAHAR IDRIS, Kuantan

Source: NST – January 14, 2008