I refer to letters Urgent need for dog pounds and A suspicious kind of ‘puppy love’ .

I understand the dilemma faced by these writers and their neighbours. As someone who runs the Remembering Sheena Campaign we hear many grievances from independent animal rescuers to pet keepers (I don't like to use the word 'owner' as I believe mankind is only a steward of all God's creation - not owner) to ordinary people who are upset with the ill treatment of pets by their neighbours.

The Remembering Sheena Campaign (RSC) began after a German Shepherd was left starving by its keeper and all the Malaysian courts did was fine the keeper RM100 and sent him home. The dog was suffering and had to be put down.

RSC joined the campaign to revamp the outdated Animal Ordinance 1953. We held a rally and despite the thousands of signatures from the Malaysian public, the Umno-led BN government came up with the new Animal Act 2006 that iword for word was the same as the 1953 Ordinance. None of the provisions were changed. This begs the question, why bother to introduce this new Act at all?

It is sad that so many people gave of their time and money to fight for better laws for the protection of animals only for it to fall on deaf years of the Umno-led BN government. Even now it is such a hassle to get the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) to act on reports of animal abuse, although the law says they must act.

Currently shelters and the government pounds put these animals down, even healthy ones. The municipal councils are also said to lease dog-catching contracts to private companies. Due to the lucrative money to be earned (RM35 - RM50 for one dog) as one newspaper reported, they would go as far as stealing people's pets.

These contractors also do not hand over the catch immediately but keep the dogs in stuffy vans oftentimes without food or water for as long as a week until the van is full. In the meantime the hungry and thirsty dogs attack the weaker ones and this newspaper reported that one dog was seen lapping a dead dog's fluid from its mouth, due to its extreme thirst.

Due to the Umno-led BN government's indifference towards animals, kind-hearted Malaysians find themselves forming independent groups to rescue abandoned and abused animals and re- home them. The public is forced to do the job the government has failed to do. What is the point of taxpayers’ money funding these government bodies that do nothing for animal welfare? It might as well go towards funding these independent rescuers.

So these kind-hearted people give of their time and money to help get them adopted, asking nothing in return but only the joy of seeing their rescued animals go to loving homes.

This sick legacy of the Umno-led BN government is now encroaching upon the lives of ordinary Malaysians and their relationship with their pets as can be seen from the above two letters. Theirs is not an isolated case. There are many who are facing such problems.

Just a few days ago RSC heard of a lady who was forced to move out of her apartments on the grounds that she was not allowed to keep dogs. Her dogs were well-behaved and received their regular exercise. Her place was also hygienic. Yet she was harassed to the point where the management cut off her electricity and water supply.

So questions arise such as whether management offices of apartment have the right to do this to legal owners? Where do they get these strict regulations of ‘no pets allowed’ from? From local council regulations? Federal law? Abroad, apartment owners are allowed to have pets. So why not Malaysia?

These issues need to be brought up with the new Pakatan Rakyat government who RSC is confident has the integrity and sincerity to look into the - if only the various animal welfare groups could come forward in a united voice to seek their help.

In the meantime, I hope the writers of the two letters above can write to [email protected] so that we can record your voice in the growing clamour for the government to do something for Malaysian animals that can only result in the overall well-being of the nation.

A quote from Mahatma Ghandi: The greatness of a nation can be seen in the way it treats its animals.