Selangor Sultan, Tengku Permaisuri urge public not to neglect stray animals

SHAH ALAM: The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Tengku Permaisuri of Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin want the public, especially in Selangor, not to neglect the responsibility of protecting stray animals, especially cats and dogs, during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

The Istana Alam Shah, in a posting on the Selangor Royal Office Facebook page today, said Sultan Sharafuddin and Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin expressed sadness and regret as there are still individuals and certain parties who deliberately treated the animals cruelly and still do not know the best method to protect them.

“It is very important for all of us to have compassion for these animals and share the responsibility to feed and protect them, whether as pets or when they are in their own habitat,” said the royal couple.

The statement also said that Sultan Sharafuddin and Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin are now keeping some stray cats that have been neutered.

“This includes Snowy, an abandoned cat that initially came to Sultan Sharafuddin's residence, four years ago to look for food, but was eventually adopted as a pet.

“Snowy is now Sultan Sharafuddin’s favourite cat and has been his loyal companion,” it said.

Apart from Snowy, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, who is the Royal Patron of the Stray Free Selangor (SFS) campaign run by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA Selangor), has rescued more than 100 stray cats and she kept 30 of them, while the rest have been adopted.

For the record, from March 2017 until December last year, a total of 7,117 stray cats and dogs have been neutered under the SFS campaign, supervised by the SPCA Selangor.

The statement also said that Sultan Sharafuddin ordered the local authorities to be more proactive and deal with the issue of stray animals holistically, rather than giving a bad impression that would cause the animals to be confined or killed, the statement said.

It also added that Sultan Sharafuddin wanted the local authorities to adopt method used by Turkey as a model to handle innocent stray animals.

Both Sultan Sharafuddin and Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin expressed hope that the public, in Selangor especially, to continue to instil compassion and love for these stray animals and care about the rights and welfare of such animals, the statement said.

It added that the royal couple also reminded the public to continue complying with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the MCO, including wearing face mask and only leaving the house when necessary to curb the spread of COVID-19 infection.

-- BERNAMA