Masalah anjing liar berpunca daripada kegagalan kerajaan, kata aktivis

An activist for animal rights has called on authorities to identify and address hotspots of stray dog attacks, stating that the issue stems from decades of government failure to manage pet populations, breeding, and care. Rajesh Nagarajan from Lawyers for Animal Rights shared concerns about the safety of children following recent incidents of stray dog attacks, but emphasized that stray dogs are not the root cause.

Nagarajan noted that stray dogs do not appear spontaneously and are a result of irresponsible pet ownership, uncontrolled breeding, and a lack of proper population management systems at the local level. He argued that targeting stray dogs now is not a solution for safety, but rather a consequence of the existing failure. The Child Safety Officer urged authorities to identify and track "hotspot" areas where stray dogs frequently roam, which often target children.

If such hotspots are found, authorities must investigate and take action against the responsible dogs. Nagarajan stressed the importance of distinguishing between dangerous stray dogs and healthy ones without owners, and warned against labeling unowned stray dogs as "feral dogs" without proper risk assessment. Before taking any major action, authorities should consider the number of complaints made prior to each attack and the actions taken in response.

He also expressed concerns about potential reward schemes or indiscriminate mass killing of stray dogs, arguing that such measures would not address the root cause of the problem. Instead, he suggested mandatory identification, vaccination, and control of breeding for stray dogs, as well as professional assessments of dangerous animals and public data availability.

If there is a clear threat to children, authorities should act decisively against dangerous animals, not every dog without a home.