The rich dump pedigree pets

PETALING JAYA: A Siberian Husky with mesmerising blue eyes, a brown cocker spaniel with curly locks and a rare Persian cat are among the pedigree pets dumped at the Society For The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) as rising affluence and easy access to pedigrees “breed” callousness in pet owners.

Animal shelters and rescuers said they were seeing an increase in the number of pedigree pets being abandoned, fuelled by the proliferation of backyard breeders and night markets selling pedigrees.

“There’s a lot of illegal breeding. It is out of control,” said SPCA front office manager Chelvy Mageswaran.

The Independent Pet Rescuers (IPR) found poodles, schnauzers, dachshunds and shih tzu sold in night markets in the Klang Valley.

“The increase in pedigrees being abandoned is because they are cheap and easy to get. You can even get them in a night market,” Carnea Lee of the IPR said.

Lee said pedigrees from the night markets were poorly bred and often suffered from skin and health problems.

“And with the rising affluence, such animals become even more disposable. Owners dump their pets when they are no longer cute and buy a new one,” Lee said.

The Siberian Husky, cocker spaniel and a beagle sheltering at the SPCA were abandoned by their owners who found it too much work to care for them.

“People who surrender their animals here usually say they have no time. They are not pet lovers.

“They think the dogs are cute when they are young. But when the pets grow up and it’s too much work, they dump them,” Chelvy said.

From January to August, the SPCA received 4,761 dogs, of which, only 921 have found new homes.

“We try to keep healthy animals for as long as we can. But when there is no space, we sometimes have to put down the animal on that day itself, especially if it is old and sickly,” Chelvy said.

Pedigree pets make up an estimated 20% of the total number of pets surrendered at the SPCA.

In the past three years, the SPCA has seen a spike in the number of abandoned Maltese dogs and shih tzu, whose owners were mostly from Iran.

“The expatriates buy them as puppies thinking they are cute. But they don’t know how to look after them. Many of these dogs are brought here in a poor state with bad skin and matted fur,” Chelvy said.

To date, there is no law regulating dog breeding.

The Government is drafting an Animal Welfare Bill which will include provisions to control dog breeding.

“We will include (dog breeding) in the Bill,” said Veterinary Services Department director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin.

The Bill is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament next year.

If you are interested to adopt a pet, give the SPCA a call at 03-4256 5312.