The Besut District Council (MDB) in Terengganu, which has defended the shooting of a stray dog known as Kopi on Oct 6, is expected to be hauled to court over the incident.

Animal rights lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan said a coalition of animal rights groups seeking for the officers involved to be charged will file a suit with the Terengganu High Court next week.

“We want all officers involved to be charged under the Animal Welfare Act 2015.

“We demand that police take action against them. We will not accept our police report being marked as ‘no further action’. Stop murdering our stray dogs,” he was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today.

Earlier, some 100 people gathered in solidarity with Kopi at the Sentul police station in Kuala Lumpur where a report was filed on the killing.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, Rajesh said among those present were social activist Lee Lam Thye, singer Caprice, and a lawyer known on social media as “Abe Jay”.

He said Selangor Furry Future Association president S Shashi Kumar had filed the report.

“MDB had admitted it (the killing) and defended the action. Those involved must be charged. That is the minimum that should be done,” he stressed.

Rajesh added that there is suspicion that other local councils have taken similar actions against strays but there is no evidence as yet.

Public uproar

Previously, MDB president Mohd Sukeri Ibrahim said the shooting of Kopi, which ignited an uproar on social media, followed standard operating procedure.

He also refuted claims that council workers abandoned the dog after it was shot, claiming that some individuals prevented his team from retrieving the body.

Following this, seven NGOs from Sarawak and Sabah called for a moratorium on lethal methods to control the stray population of dogs, which they said should be replaced with humane approaches.

Shashi said the Veterinary Services Department (DVS) must be held responsible and a memorandum will be submitted to them on Friday.

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