Spaying to reduce stray population on streets

PETALING JAYA: An animal society is advocating neutering dogs and cats as a way to reduce the stray population.

“Neutering could also reduce aggressive behaviour and prevent certain types of cancers,” said Hulu Langat-based Second Chance Animal Society (SCAS) president Yeoh Saik Kim.

She added that SCAS is currently home to 500 injured, abused or abandoned animals.

“Our ‘Adopt, Don’t Buy’ and ‘Neuter, Don’t Multiply’ concept serves to imprint the idea that neutering and spaying are the best ways to control and reduce the stray population.”

She said the society was set up in 2009 by animal lovers to provide care for strays roaming the streets, but members have felt disheartened over the years as the population continued to grow.

“We have rescued thousands, but if you look at the streets today, there are many stray dogs and cats. It is very sad because we are helpless with our limited resources.”

Yeoh also said a volunteer contributed a 0.6ha plot of land for the shelter, which has since become too small to house more strays.

“We raised funds to build the shelter, but we can only accommodate 500 strays. There are many more on the streets that we cannot take in as we are struggling with those we have.”

She added that running an animal shelter is expensive, with food and medical care as the two biggest expenditures, which SCAS relies on donations to cover.

“We need roughly RM40,000 a month to cover food, salaries, utilities and veterinary costs. Food alone costs us about RM1,000 for 120kg of kibble per day.”

SCAS secretary Lim Mei Leng said the shelter has a no-kill policy as remaining humane is of great importance to its members.

“If a stray is terminally ill, we prefer that its life ends naturally because we don’t practise euthanasia.”

She said one such example is Kenzo, a four-month-old dog found by volunteers that contracted distemper, a highly contagious viral disease.

“This particular virus destroys nerves, causing him to keep twisting and twitching. We took him for acupuncture treatment and rehabilitation, but it didn’t work.”

Lim said the society also has dogs that suffer from paralysis and blindness, and its volunteers and workers take care of them and monitor their progress.

However, despite its struggles, the society is thankful to the public who have helped it remain open.

“We do not have corporate sponsorships or government aid, and whatever donations we get from the public goes straight to expenses for the animals.

“People can also volunteer their time or adopt a pet from us. We believe all animals deserve a chance to live happy and healthy lives, and we are committed to providing them with the care they need.”

Those keen to assist SCAS may send donations to its Maybank account at 562852104418.

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