Don’t just criticise stray dog bounty scheme, says Seremban mayor

Seremban City Council (MBS) mayor Masri Baharuddin has called on critics of the council’s stray dog bounty program to suggest realistic alternatives. While open to feedback, Masri warned against merely dismissing his plans, comparing futile criticism to the Malay saying, “dogs barking at hills.” "Don’t just criticise us like ‘anjing menyalak bukit’," he clarified, emphasizing that eradicating stray dogs is no simple task. The ultimate aim, he stated, is to make the council’s jurisdiction stray-dog-free.

Yesterday, animal rights group Lawyers for Animal Rights warned the council against the program, suggesting it could encourage theft or seizure of pet dogs on the promise of cash rewards. Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh demanded disclosure of the council’s legal authority, budget approval, and procedures for capturing, treating, and disposing of surrendered dogs.

Masri lamented that MBS often bore the blame for stray dog-related incidents, hoping the public would support the council’s efforts to address the stray dog problem positively. He noted the council had hired a contractor for dog capture and allocated funds for neutering the animals. "It is not cheap to manage these stray dogs," he noted.

"However, I would like to emphasize that we welcome anyone who is willing to take in these dogs. The only thing is that we will charge these people for the costs incurred by MBS while caring for these animals."