Lately, there was a group of animal lovers went to Pulau Ketam to save some stray dogs left abandon at an inhibited island nearby Pulau Ketam. Great effort of this group to locate those stray dogs and save them. Here’s my 2 cents worth of opinion. As many knows, i’ve always frequent to P Ketam for the past 20 years or so and i did notice some of those stray dogs running around below those Pulau Ketam Fishing Village wooden houses. There are few things that i’ve noticed….
10 years back, there where fewer stray dogs. Those stray multiply and today, it has become a nuisance to the Pulau Ketam villagers. Those stray dogs would run all over the island under the wooden houses when low tide to find food. So, during “night low tides”, those stray dogs will go around looking for food under those wooden houses. Some of those stray dogs are territorial, so they will fight for their territory.
The noises from the dogs fight are sometimes intolerable especially if there are babies or kids in the house. Those noises from the stray dogs keep the baby and kids awake every night until the parent have no choice but to kill some of the stray dogs.
Now, there are many methods in killing those stray dogs. I remembered, previously the local residents will use a huge fishing hook attached to a chain. They will use a piece of meat to ‘fish’ those stray dogs and it’s left to be drown when high tide. I also remember some of those Pulau Ketam villagers uses ‘rat poison’ to feed those stray dogs. Some are ‘catapulted’(lastik) to dead. Some where caught and are given the lethal injection, some where shot to dead with guns….etc, etc
Do you believe it if i were to tell you that ‘some’ of the Pulau Ketam residents even tried to ‘rescue’ those pity stray dogs, especially religion believers. They find it inhumane to torture those dogs like what i’ve mentioned above so they moved some of the stray dogs to a nearby inhibited island believing those stray dogs life will be spared. In fact, some does. They feed on crabs and other smaller creature like those monkeys that live on that island. Some of those old or sick ones that can’t find food and water, dies. Some are killed by other venomous animals such as ‘green viper’ which lives on those inhibited island too.
This are the sad facts for stray dogs at Pulau Ketam. Some of those villagers on the island tried to bring those stray dogs to Port Klang mainland but they have no transport to move them because those ferry operators don’t allow stray dogs to be in their ferries. So some of those stray dogs are caught and released on those inhibited island. In fact, some of those stray dogs swims to those inhibited island by itself. They can really swim, i saw some swimming across island to island during my fishing trips. Some of those stray dogs swim to nearby inhibited islands during a sinking or collapse of a fish farm especially during a Spring Tide(high and strong current at sea)
My advice is, if anyone know how to transport and saved those stray dogs at Pulau Ketam, pls let those local folks know because i myself do not know how to handle a stray dog. Educate those Pulau Ketam residents on how to handle the stray dogs problem and i believe many would volunteer to get rid of those noisy stray dogs.
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Donaltan, a member of the Animal Lover Group that went to Pulau Ketam to save those abandoned stray dogs wrote :-
“Rescue on the way.
Was in Pulau Ketam a week ago investigating the story of almost 300 domestic dogs being left on a uninhabited island. They were ‘caught’ as strays and was transported to a nearby island which has NO fresh water and food to survive.
3 days ago, after tedious search, we found the dogs but more than half has died! This is Malaysia’s biggest bobo and has caused some pet lovers’ concern. We should not have ‘thrown them away’ like this and cause so much suffering. There were millions of blood-sucking sand flies and poisonous snakes. Many died trying to find their way home but got stuck on the very deep mud. We saw their carcasses.
Please go to my blogsite at Birds Talking Too to read our report and see photos taken by TV Smith.
My fellow Bloggers TV Smith of Malaysia Central, Sabrina Yeap of Furry Friend Farms and Daniel Tang covered this event to much disgust.
Only one terrier-like pup was saved. One dog also looked like a ‘Shih Tzu’ mixed. How can these dogs survive?
My blogsite is at http://birdstalkingtoo.blogspot.com
Please add a comment.
Your support is most appreciated.
Thank you and Regards
Donald G.H Tan
Birds Talking Too
Klang, Selangor, Malaysia
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Triwizardfan, a Fish and Environmental Researcher/Scientist that work at Pulau Ketam Fish Farm Quoted :-
I am still a newbie when it comes to Pulau Ketam area, but I HAVE noticed and been told about the existence and declining number of stray dogs on the islands across from the kelongs. Before this, I’ve always wondered and asked my colleagues where these dogs came from, since I found it strange for an isolated mangrove island like that to have so many dogs. And now, thanks to this story, I know where they come from…
It is true what kurauking has said – some of the dogs DO know how to swim, I’ve seen it as well, but usually these dogs who can swim belong to the fish farms. These animals have lived on the sea pretty much of their whole lives, and that’s why they are strong enough to swim across a short distance to the islands. However it is a different story for the island dogs as they are not as resilient as the kelong canines.. what another man thinks of as kindness instead becomes a cruel death for these strays. Yet, the growing number of strays is surely a problem as the small inhabited area of Pulau Ketam is not enough to harbour so many of these animals. The current problem of the already abandoned dogs may be out of hand, but to prevent this in future, perhaps a few things can be done:-
1. Just as the residents have made it a rule to never allow motorbikes on Pulau Ketam, it may be advisable to make it a rule as well to bring only spayed dogs to Pulau Ketam. As long as the owner is responsible for their dogs (wherever they come from) there should not be ‘extra’ dogs running around to cause problems in the future. The reason this problem exists in the first place is because of some irresponsible humans abandoning their dogs or allowing them to run around and multiply without thinking about the consequences.
2. For the current problem, perhaps the municipal council will help out just this once – to hire a boat just to transfer all unwanted dogs to the mainland. Sure, it’ll be a living nightmare for the boatman and those afraid of dogs in Port Klang, but hey, at least the dogs have a chance to survive, get adopted, or get admitted into the Selangor SPCA. It sure beats getting eaten by snakes and sandflies. Plus, I do not think Pulau Ketam is in favor of having a PKSPCA anytime soon…
3. For young dogs, maybe there is a chance for them to be adopted by the fish farmers. The farmers can train and need such dogs to guard their fish from thieves, and in return, the dogs can ‘earn’ their living on the farm and have a home as well, albeit a floating one. It is a bit hard for the older ones though, as they are harder to train and may fight with the dogs already staying on the farms. However, this too is a limited option as there are only so many fish farms (17 farms I believe) around Pulau Ketam area.
For now, I wish you all the best in your efforts – your endeavour is a truly a compassionate and somewhat honourable one. Meanwhile, we will try to do our part wherever possible, and hopefully someone can come up with a brilliant plan to save the remaining dogs.
SOURCE :- Myklang Community Forum
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I did not know that this Pulau Ketam Stray Dogs issue is so serious. I’ve just spend the whole night reading all the blogs and comments from the internet. True enough, never under estimate the power of networking.
Now, there are few issues that i’ve read for the internet that i must clarify. Firstly, i would like to comment on RPK’s ‘Malaysia Today’ comment on ‘Chinese killing those stray dogs’. He quotes “Fortunately it was the Chinese from Pulau Ketam who did this. If it were Malays, I would be whacking away till kingdom come”.
The first thing that comes to my mind when i read that statement was “will the RICH CHINESE FISHERMAN do such thing?”
Yes, most of the Chinese fisherman at Pulau Ketam are filthy rich. I believe you know how much a fish cost nowadays in the market. Fish are like gold nowadays esp local fish. The fisherman at Pulau Ketam nowadays don’t even need to lift a finger to run their fishing business, do you think they will ‘catch or trap’ those stray dogs themselves?
NO!!!
Maybe they would ‘supervise’ but they are not the one that goes after chasing and trapping those stray dogs. If it’s not those Chinese fisherman, then who else would do such dirty job?
The Chinese Fishermans at Pulau Ketam employed many foreigners especially Indonesian, Vietnamese, Nepalese etc to help them run their fishing business, from fish farming to fish catching and fish mongering incl transporting the fish to mainland Port Klang. Port Klang itself is already being dubbed as ‘Mini Indonesia’, do you know how many Indonesian lives in Pulau ketam ? I dare say, it’s not fewer than all those stray dogs found at Pulau Ketam combine and that’s not including other country foreign workers.
It’s those foreign workers that does all the dirty job at Pulau Ketam. It’s the foreign workers that catches and trap those stray dogs incl transporting them to those inhibited island. Not the Chinese Fisherman. So, do you see a chain reaction here? Firstly, the gomen ignored the cries of Pulau Ketam Villager regarding those stray dogs. The resident there cannot tolerate those nuisance stray dogs anymore thus ‘paying’ those foreign workers to do the dirty job for them. The foreign workers does a good job. The Chinese Fisherman at Pulau Ketam gets the blame of being cruel to animals. Just put yourself into their shoes. Imagine yourself after a hard day work and you wanted some rest. And BAAAAM!!!…those stray dogs begin their territorial fights. Tell me, can you have your rest with all those havoc going on under your house?
This has reach a point where ‘survival of human’ vs ‘survival of animals’, in this case Pulau Ketam folks vs stray dogs. The residents at Pulau ketam had no choice but to go to war with those stray dogs since the gomen don’t give a dam about it. How can you blame the villager for being cruel to those stray dogs? Their livelihood are threaten. Their is no peace until all those stray dogs are rid off from their island, be it by killing, sterilization, relocating or whatever other methods. It’s just like a mosquito(aedes?) bites you and you whack it, is that animal cruelty? Well, i don’t think so unless you are a very strong religion believer.
Again i would say, unless they gomen steps in and help solve the problem, those RICH CHINESE FISHERMAN will keep on ‘paying’ those foreign workers to trap and catch all those stray dogs and throw them on an inhibited island. Like Triwizardfan said, how on earth are those villagers going to sterilize or put them to sleep if there’s no Jabatan Haiwan or Klinic Haiwan(Vets) at Pulau Ketam? And those stray dogs are not allowed into a passenger ferry due to religion restriction. Now, do you see the ‘chain reaction’ of why these stray dogs ended up at an inhibited island?
Now, pls don’t go start a Boycott on Pulau Ketam People, they are innocent. Like many politician would say, “My hand are tied, i can’t do much”, in this case this ‘saying’ really meant what it suppose to mean. Those Pulau Ketam folks hands are really tied, by our gomen itself.
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An emaciated dog eating food left for the marooned strays by the SPCA in Pulau Selat Kering. – Picture by Choo Choy May
This file photo shows how the dogs were caged, then transported from Pulau Ketam to be dumped in nearby deserted islands.
Map of the islands in Pulau Ketam detailing the location where the stray dogs are being dumped.
Animal rescuer Jackie Tsang (from SAS) is seen here explaining to Klang MP S.Manikavasagam about the dogs that had been abandoned in Pulau Selat Kering. – Picture by Choo Choy May
Two dogs which were eventually lured into cages after much effort by the animal activists while at Pulau Selat Kering. – Picture by Choo Choy May