‘Banished’ dogs dying of hunger and thirst
(The Sun) – Pulau Ketam folks' intention to save some 300 stays from being put to sleep by leaving them on an uninhabited isle has created an ironic tragedy of sorts.
According to a report in China Press today, apart from about 100 of the strays which are believed to have swum back to Pulau Ketam, the rest are believed to have died or are dying from hunger and thirst.
The dozen or so left on the isle survived by feeding on the carcasses of those which have died.
And now some of the 7,000 islanders, which are still dogged by more than 2,000 strays on Pulau Ketam, a fishing village off the coast of Port Klang, are rethinking their act of shipping more dogs to deserted isles.
Animal rights groups Save the Strays (SAS) and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Selangor (SPCA) have organised trips to check on the conditions of the banished dogs, and the Furry Friends
Farm, an animal shelter, has swung into action to save the surviving dogs.
The poor treatment of the dogs by the islanders have caught the attention of some animal lovers. One of them wrote in his blog: "I am mounting an urgent rescue mission to capture and transport the remaining survivors back to Sabrina's (Yeap) Furry Friends Farm.
"But time is running out and there might be only skeletons and carcasses left to collect on our next trip.
"Boat hire is expensive there (Pulau Ketam). It is a tourist area and it has already cost me a few hundred ringgit for boat hire alone so far. The rescued dogs cannot be transported on the regular ferries."
According to press report, conditions on the mangrove isle where dogs were left to fend for themselves in the name of saving them were harsh.
The dogs were shipped to Pulau Selat Kering, which is about 45 minutes by boat from Pulau Ketam, and not the more hospitable Pulau Tengah.
The is no food and drinking water on Pulau Selat Kering, three quarters of which is submerged during high tides.
The islanders, who have had enough of the threats from the growing number of homeless dogs, had started rounding up the strays early this year.
