Published on Malay Mail Online (http://www.mmail.com.my)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cat graves unearthed
By shaza
Created Tuesday, September 13th
Police now looking for missing ‘pet hotel’ owners
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011 11:13:00
SHAH ALAM: Police have unearthed 12 cat graves scattered within the compound of a double-storey house in Sungai Buloh believed to belong to the owners of Petknode, a pet boarding centre.
The discovery of the ‘pet cemetery’ was made about a week ago by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS), police told The Malay Mail.
Now, police are urging the two owners of Petknode to turn themselves in to further assist ongoing investigation of the case.
Selangor deputy Crime Investigation Department chief (Intelligence and Operation),
ACP Rosli Mohd Isa, said the duo had been out of contact since police first obtained their statements two weeks ago,
shortly after hundreds of cats were found maltreated at the centre run by them.
“Based on police reports lodged,
a total of 169 cats have been found alive while another six are still missing,”
he told The Paper That Cares yesterday.
He said 14 cats had been found dead, some at the centre in Damansara Damai,
with 12 of them found buried at the house in Desa Moccis, Sungai Buloh,
purportedly belonging to the Petknode owners.
“The police, together with the DVS, have been investigating the case to get to the bottom of things.
Although the case involves only pets and not humans, we take this matter very seriously.”
Police have classified the case under Section 428 of the Penal Code for
“mischief by killing or maiming any animals of the value of five ringgit”,
an offence punishable by law with imprisonment of up to two years, a fine or both.
Following the latest discovery of the cat graves,
non-governmental organisations and animal lovers have expressed their shock and outrage.
On the night of Sept 4, hundreds of cat owners,
who had entrusted their pets to the ‘cat hotel’ during the Hari Raya holidays,
were shocked after they found the animals left unattended at the Damansara Damai centre.
With the approval of the area’s security guards and police,
the pet owners as well as concerned animal lovers and volunteers broke into the premises and rescued about 100 pets there.
Nine felines were found dead that night.
After lodging police reports, the ‘rescue team’ of owners and volunteers then went to the Sungai Buloh house where 200 more cats were rescued.
At both premises,
the cats were kept in inhumane and unsanitary conditions,
and left starving from insufficient food.
So far, at least 75 police reports have been lodged over the incident.
Heartless minders
Shock over discovery of cat graves
WHERE IS MY KITTY? Zilla looking at the empty cage that once held her pet
FOLLOWING the discovery of 12 cat graves in the compound of the Sungai Buloh house belonging to the two male owners of Petknode, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) animal lovers expressed their outrage to The Malay Mail.
While Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) said this disheartening discovery reflected poorly on the laws Malaysia has for animals,
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) attributed the finding of the graves to the concerted effort of NGOs, animal lovers,
volunteers and the media over the past two weeks.
Two animal lovers also opined the owners of the 'cat hotel' were greedy and advised parents to educate their children to love animals from young.
SHEILA: Have sadly witnessed children kicking pets
● Wani Muttiah, MDB founder: "The Petknode issue, and now with the discovery of 12 buried cats, reflects poorly on the laws we have for animals in Malaysia.
"In other countries, if you want to open a pet centre, you would have to undergo a thorough screening on various aspects.
There would be checks on you to determine if you are a genuine animal lover,
if you had experience in caring for animals,
the extent of your resources in caring for animals and manpower availability, just to name a few.
"It was reported that Petknode's licence expired. I believe lack of enforcement and monitoring allowed such unlicensed pet businesses to bloom.
"If our laws are not looked into immediately, this incident would repeat in the future."
● Bazilah Bahrin, animal lover who was part of the pet rescue team: "The Petknode owners were just too damn greedy. They know the long Hari Raya holidays would be a highly profitable period for their business as many cat owners are Muslims and they would be travelling outstation.
"I believe this was a clearcut case of them biting off more than they could chew. They did not have the manpower to care for the animals, and when the felines died, they just took the easy way out and buried them.
"They could have buried the 12 cats out of pressure upon knowing that they couldn't cope."
CHIN: Authorities under pressure to take animal cases seriously
● Christine Chin, SPCA president: "If it wasn't for the concerted effort of various NGOs and animal supporters to rescue the maltreated cats from Petknode two weeks ago, the remains of the 12 cats would probably not have surfaced at all. There would be no pressure on the authorities.
"The NGOs were the ones who advised cat owners to lodge police reports. There have been 75 reports lodged with police to date. It these reports were not made, police and the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) would not have looked into the matter.
"The media as well as those on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, must be thanked for their help in spreading the word fast."
● Sheila, animal lover who was part of the pet rescue team: "I'm shocked! I believe all cruelty to animals stem from lack of education by parents at home.
"I have encountered children kicking pets and other animals while their parents would just look on! This would drive kids to treat animals like toys and eventually grow up to become animal abusers. To them, abusing pets or other living things would not be a big deal.
Parents must educate their kids from young to love and treat animals with care."
http://www.mmail.com.my/content/82132-cat-graves-unearthed
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cat graves unearthed
By shaza
Created Tuesday, September 13th
Police now looking for missing ‘pet hotel’ owners
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011 11:13:00
SHAH ALAM: Police have unearthed 12 cat graves scattered within the compound of a double-storey house in Sungai Buloh believed to belong to the owners of Petknode, a pet boarding centre.
The discovery of the ‘pet cemetery’ was made about a week ago by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS), police told The Malay Mail.
Now, police are urging the two owners of Petknode to turn themselves in to further assist ongoing investigation of the case.
Selangor deputy Crime Investigation Department chief (Intelligence and Operation),
ACP Rosli Mohd Isa, said the duo had been out of contact since police first obtained their statements two weeks ago,
shortly after hundreds of cats were found maltreated at the centre run by them.
“Based on police reports lodged,
a total of 169 cats have been found alive while another six are still missing,”
he told The Paper That Cares yesterday.
He said 14 cats had been found dead, some at the centre in Damansara Damai,
with 12 of them found buried at the house in Desa Moccis, Sungai Buloh,
purportedly belonging to the Petknode owners.
“The police, together with the DVS, have been investigating the case to get to the bottom of things.
Although the case involves only pets and not humans, we take this matter very seriously.”
Police have classified the case under Section 428 of the Penal Code for
“mischief by killing or maiming any animals of the value of five ringgit”,
an offence punishable by law with imprisonment of up to two years, a fine or both.
Following the latest discovery of the cat graves,
non-governmental organisations and animal lovers have expressed their shock and outrage.
On the night of Sept 4, hundreds of cat owners,
who had entrusted their pets to the ‘cat hotel’ during the Hari Raya holidays,
were shocked after they found the animals left unattended at the Damansara Damai centre.
With the approval of the area’s security guards and police,
the pet owners as well as concerned animal lovers and volunteers broke into the premises and rescued about 100 pets there.
Nine felines were found dead that night.
After lodging police reports, the ‘rescue team’ of owners and volunteers then went to the Sungai Buloh house where 200 more cats were rescued.
At both premises,
the cats were kept in inhumane and unsanitary conditions,
and left starving from insufficient food.
So far, at least 75 police reports have been lodged over the incident.
Heartless minders
Shock over discovery of cat graves
WHERE IS MY KITTY? Zilla looking at the empty cage that once held her pet
FOLLOWING the discovery of 12 cat graves in the compound of the Sungai Buloh house belonging to the two male owners of Petknode, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) animal lovers expressed their outrage to The Malay Mail.
While Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) said this disheartening discovery reflected poorly on the laws Malaysia has for animals,
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) attributed the finding of the graves to the concerted effort of NGOs, animal lovers,
volunteers and the media over the past two weeks.
Two animal lovers also opined the owners of the 'cat hotel' were greedy and advised parents to educate their children to love animals from young.
SHEILA: Have sadly witnessed children kicking pets
● Wani Muttiah, MDB founder: "The Petknode issue, and now with the discovery of 12 buried cats, reflects poorly on the laws we have for animals in Malaysia.
"In other countries, if you want to open a pet centre, you would have to undergo a thorough screening on various aspects.
There would be checks on you to determine if you are a genuine animal lover,
if you had experience in caring for animals,
the extent of your resources in caring for animals and manpower availability, just to name a few.
"It was reported that Petknode's licence expired. I believe lack of enforcement and monitoring allowed such unlicensed pet businesses to bloom.
"If our laws are not looked into immediately, this incident would repeat in the future."
● Bazilah Bahrin, animal lover who was part of the pet rescue team: "The Petknode owners were just too damn greedy. They know the long Hari Raya holidays would be a highly profitable period for their business as many cat owners are Muslims and they would be travelling outstation.
"I believe this was a clearcut case of them biting off more than they could chew. They did not have the manpower to care for the animals, and when the felines died, they just took the easy way out and buried them.
"They could have buried the 12 cats out of pressure upon knowing that they couldn't cope."
CHIN: Authorities under pressure to take animal cases seriously
● Christine Chin, SPCA president: "If it wasn't for the concerted effort of various NGOs and animal supporters to rescue the maltreated cats from Petknode two weeks ago, the remains of the 12 cats would probably not have surfaced at all. There would be no pressure on the authorities.
"The NGOs were the ones who advised cat owners to lodge police reports. There have been 75 reports lodged with police to date. It these reports were not made, police and the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) would not have looked into the matter.
"The media as well as those on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, must be thanked for their help in spreading the word fast."
● Sheila, animal lover who was part of the pet rescue team: "I'm shocked! I believe all cruelty to animals stem from lack of education by parents at home.
"I have encountered children kicking pets and other animals while their parents would just look on! This would drive kids to treat animals like toys and eventually grow up to become animal abusers. To them, abusing pets or other living things would not be a big deal.
Parents must educate their kids from young to love and treat animals with care."
http://www.mmail.com.my/content/82132-cat-graves-unearthed
0 comments:
Post a Comment