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FROM my experience as a stray feeder, rescuer and caretaker, the concept of “welfare for strays”, like providing cat food, water or medicine, is not easy for some to grasp.

Be they neighbours who are supposedly highly educated, food court patrons or even committee members of a house of worship, their lives are entirely detached from the strays.

On hot days, such humans can wilfully deny strays water to prevent them from urinating near their house of worship. Indeed, such beings have never in their lives come across a cat with severe constipation due to lack of water as I have.

The poor cat was at the car park of a hypermarket and was just skin and bones. It couldn’t eat even though it showed extreme hunger when food was offered. I took it to a vet who had to clear its bowels before it could begin to eat again. It eventually gained normal weight.

To impart among the general Malaysian public that there is such a thing as animal welfare, concerted efforts must be taken to highlight the five freedoms that all animals, be they strays, pets or wildlife, are entitled to.

They are freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and diseases; freedom to express normal behaviours; and freedom from fear and distress.

Conceived in Britain in the 1960s, these five freedoms are universally acknowledged and referred to, but they are not widely disseminated to the public in Malaysia.

In fact, I only came to know about them in my sixth year or so of dealing with strays. While waiting for a rescue to be treated at an animal clinic, I saw a small-sized poster detailing the five freedoms on the wall among a host of other exhibits.

I have visited other animal clinics, but I have never seen the same poster displayed in these premises. I believe animal clinics must disseminate this information more widely.

The media, especially radio and television, should also provide airtime to highlight the freedoms animals are entitled to.

Last but not least, houses of worship can and should play a role in enjoining their congregations to support the freedoms strays are entitled to, as helping God’s other creatures is also a form of worship.

ZAG

 

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