Stray dogs strike fear in traders

Stray dogs strike fear in traders

ALOR STAR, Malaysia - Traders in Jalan Kanchut near here could not help feeling worried over the presence of a pack of stray dogs roaming in the area.

The problem began several months ago when more than 10 strays made a vacant building in the neighbourhood their shelter. Siti Aminah Nayan, 19, said the dogs struck fear in her customers.

"About 10 dogs can be seen running around on any given day. The number would increase in the evenings," said the supervisor of a coffee shop here, expressing her fear that the canines may attack the people.

"Business has also been affected.

"Some of my customers would feel uncomfortable as most of the dogs suffer from skin diseases," said Siti Aminah.

"The dogs are a nuisance as they rummage through the garbage bins in search of food," she added.

Alor Star district Veterinary Department assistant Abu Bakar Saleh said a total of 482 stray dogs had been rounded up last year. "Between January and this month, we have caught 301 stray dogs from the housing areas.

"The highest number of strays rounded up was between May and last month. All the stray dogs that we caught will be put to sleep.

Abu Bakar also said the department and the Alor Star City Council (MBAS) had come up with an alternative approach to reduce the number of stray dogs in the city.

"We have imposed a restriction whereby owners are allowed to keep only two pet dogs at home while for business operators, they are allowed four dogs.

"Those breaching the rules would be fined," he said.

Abu Bakar said the move was necessary as most of the stray dogs on the streets were dumped by their owners.

MBAS planning and corporate communications division director Bohari Md Yusoff said it had to reduce the number of dog licences for the same reason.

"Most of the stray dogs were dumped by their owners and we had no option but to resort to limiting the number of licences to curb the stray dog problem."

However, since January, MBAS has reduced the annual dog licence fee to RM20 (S$7.80) compared with RM36 previously.

Bohari urged the public to report to the council if they come across stray dogs in their area.

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