In collaboration with PASSIONS, VOICE OF ASIA is proud to present timeless articles from the archives, reproduced digitally for your reading pleasure. Originally published in PASSIONS Volume 49 in 2013, we present this story on The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), an organisation committed to saving as many of our animal companions’ lives as possible, because they deserve love and care too.
Animals have long been deprived of their basic rights – treated as toys that can be bought from a store and easily tossed aside when no longer wanted. We are bombarded with news of stray dogs and cats being scalded by hot water or beaten and tortured by bullies, and of domestic pet abuse when owners abandon puppies by roadsides, chain their dogs up in the hot sun or deprive their cats of basic nutrition. One of the latest incidences of such inhumanity occurred when a group of students in Cyberjaya, Malaysia pushed a puppy down a manhole for their own amusement. It’s a shocking world when children are not taught to value ALL life when young. How we treat the weakest in our society is a commentary on how progressive and indeed how kind we are. PASSIONS takes a trip to the SPCA in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, to see kindness in action.
Protecting Animals
Established in 1958, The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur is a non-profit charity organisation that provides a voice for animals by campaigning for animal welfare and engaging with the government in dealing with cases of animal cruelty. Over the years, the society has assisted the government by providing information on owners who have abused their animals. The SPCA is also currently in discussion with the local authorities to increase the penalty charge for animal abuse from a RM200 fine to a RM10,000 fine and six months imprisonment.
Receiving no monetary support from the government, the SPCA relies on public donations and fundraising for the upkeep of the shelter and all the animals. From humble beginning with only a shack as an office, the society has come a long way and can now shelter two hundred dogs and a hundred cats at any one time. Currently the shelter receives 600 unwanted animals a month – exceeding its maximum capacity of 300 animals.
15 permanent staff, assisted by several dedicated volunteers, carry out the day to day routine of caring for and cleaning the more than 7000 animals that pass through their hands each year. However, the centre is only a temporary shelter, and the staff hope that the animals will be adopted by loving people looking for a pet companion.
Save Two Lives
“When you drop by the SPCA to adopt an animal, you will be saving two lives. Firstly, the animal you have given a home to. Secondly, the new animal we are able to offer protection to at our shelter,” said Chelvy Mageswaran, the Front Office Manager of SPCA.
Unable to accommodate all the animals, a tough call has to be made on which animals may be kept. The fate of those that are not chosen is a sad one as they are be put to sleep by the shelter’s veterinarians. Animal euthanasia is practiced at SPCA and although it may be seen a cruel act on the surface, Chelvy says that letting the animals out to be run down by a vehicle or suffer without proper nourishment is a fate worse than death.
Melancholy Parting
“We sincerely hope that the public will assist by considering adopting a pet from us instead of purchasing one from a store. If more people adopt, then we would not need to put so many animals to sleep, which is always a heart-breaking moment for us,” said Chelvy, who although having 18 years of working for SPCA, still grieves when animals are euthanised.
All the animals are given names when they arrive at the shelter, but many will leave this world without one. Lacking adequate resources such as land space, the SPCA is unable to give all the animals a proper burial and those euthanised are given to Alam Flora for mass burial.
Constantly Progressing
The SPCA has always aimed to reduce the number of unwanted animals they receive to zero – no animals left by their owners on the streets and no animals that need to be taken in because they have been abused. The society has done a remarkable job so far, managing to reduce the number of animals brought in from 2000 per month in 1995 to 600 now. Their success is primarily attributed to the Klinik Kembiri, a veterinary clinic which offers cheap neutering of pets to people from low-income backgrounds. Set up in 2006, the clinic’s neutering rates are RM60 to RM100 compared with private veterinary clinics which charge close to RM200.
The society has also begun drafting plans for a new eco-friendly shelter to revitalise the Ampang site and give the animals a friendly environment to roam freely. With an objective to complete the build-up by next year, the SPCA is currently lobbying local government and nearby residents before they begin progressively rebuilding the shelter.
There is a wealth of information we could learn from animals, both wild and domesticated, if only we were not so arrogant as to think we are too superior. We delude ourselves into thinking that only we feel pain, anger or hatred and that only we can love and be loved in return; because we think we are the only ones who can communicate. But only the ignorant believe this.
Those who know the animal world, will know that animals communicate with each other in diverse ways that bypass our understanding. They are capable of extremely savvy building technologies from the humble spider to the high-tech ant and bee to the innovative nests of various birds. They can survive and thrive in almost every climate with bodies that adapt better than ours – which means their genetic evolution is faster.
We scorn hens and roosters, pigs and cows, as stupid, because we only see them as meat. But roosters make great watchdogs and are extremely proud animals, who have more courage than most humans. Pigs are cleverer than at least 20% of the human population, are extremely clean animals and make wonderful pets, when given a chance. But most of the time, they are just given bad press. Cows love you like their own family and cry when they are separated from their young ones.
All animals love life and tremble in fear of death. They feel pain, they need love, and they give back unconditionally. Their passive acceptance of us should never be abused. If we are indeed, the superior animal in this planet, then we should act as such. It begins by caring for the animals around you, your pets or the ones in the street.
Where we can, let’s make our society a better place. If we have space in our house and in hearts, and a bit of money in our pockets, let’s look beyond clubbing, Play-Station games, parties and television and try bringing an animal into our home and our life. Take a chance and experience love like no other. We in PASSIONS assure you, it will change your life. For the better.
 in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur is a non-profit charity organisation){kind=link}