View: Unfair Laws on Dogs

I ALWAYS presumed that one’s own home was one’s castle. Obviously, I was wrong. Now I read that to own a pet dog, I need my neighbour’s permission “Dog owners in Nilai must now get neighbour’s permission” (The Star, Jan 15).

I am indeed baffled and I fear it will only cause more disunity than neighbourly camaraderie.

What if I am refused permission to keep a dog but I am registered visually impaired and need my guide dog? Am I the exception to the rule?

Why should a personal decision of mine, whether to own a dog or not, be entrusted to my neighbour?

Not everyone gets on well with one’s neighbour. This would be the perfect opportunity for him to repay any grudges he may have had towards me in the past.

And what if my friendly neighbour, who has given consent for me to own a dog, moves away? Do I have to go through the same process again?

And it does not do much for racial unity as it is generalised, wrongly or rightly, that most Muslims do not have dogs as pets as the dog is considered unclean, and so would be expected to turn down my request.

I think that the time and energy spent for the council to come with this latest ruling could be better harnessed towards eradicating poverty, or used it for other noble causes.

But, if the council wants to be seen doing something towards dog welfare, then maybe they should ensure that dog owners take their duty of care towards their dogs seriously.

This means ensuring dog owners house their pets in a clean environment, seeing that they are fed a suitable diet, are not suffering or in pain and are free from injury and disease.

By all means, do make it an offence if a dog is found wandering outside the house compound without the proper dog tag or microchip; or if the dog has no collar when taken into public places; or if a ferocious dog is unmuzzled in public; or if the dog has no leash when being taken for a walk on roads; or if an untrained dog is allowed to get out of control and be a danger and nuisance in public.

Also, owners can be prosecuted if the dogs are known to be maltreated or have been abandoned.
The owners could also be fined under the Noise Act if the dogs in a neighbour’s compound are too noisy.

Moreover, there should be strict fines for dogs that are allowed to defecate in public. In England, the fine ranges from RM 250 to RM 5,000 depending on locality.

As with most rules, there must be enforcement, not mere pronouncements, as what normally happens to these things.

MARIAM MOKHTAR,
Ipoh.

This view was taken from: The Star Newspaper: Views N59 17 January 2009