Article: Rescue groups swing into action

Thursday May 7, 2009

By WANI MUTHIAH

PORT KLANG: Animal welfare groups are rushing to an island near here to rescue hundreds of dogs dumped there by Pulau Ketam residents.

One of the rescue missions initiated by animal sanctuary Furry Friends Farm (FFF) saw two dogs being rescued from the uninhabited Pulau Tengah.

Earlier in the day, two more dogs were rescued by volunteers and workers of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Save a Stray, a non-governmental organisation.

FFF founding director Sabrina Yeap said rescuers were finding it difficult to get to the dogs, which were hiding deep in the mangrove swamp surrounding the island.

“The dogs are fearful of people after the ordeal they had been put through, so they go into hiding when they sense human presence near the island,” said Yeap, who was accompanied by blogger TV Smith and several volunteers during the rescue.

Also in the entourage was DAP member and Hulu Langat district council councillor Karin Lee.

Pulau Ketam residents claimed they dumped the dogs on Pulau Tengah because they did not agree with the methods used by the local council to exterminate strays rounded up on the island.

The abandoning of the dogs on an island, without food and water, is slowly attracting international concern, with protests coming from Hong Kong, Australia, the United States and Britain.

“People from these countries are sending us funds to carry out our rescue mission. We have received thousands of e-mail begging us to help the dogs,” said Yeap.

Malaysians, too, were contributing to the rescue, she said. Some even called and expressed their anguish after reading about the dogs, she added.

Some of the dogs have died of starvation while others drowned in their attempt to swim back to Pulau Ketam.

The surviving dogs had also resorted to eating the carcasses of their dead counterparts.

Lee said she accompanied Yeap to see for herself the gravity of the situation in order to report the matter to the state government.

After the rescue in Pulau Tengah, the group proceeded to Pulau Ketam, where Lee went looking for village headman Cha Keng Lee.

However, Cha was nowhere to be seen. Lee was told that he had gone for a meeting in Klang.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Nation 7 May 2009