We, the undersigned, urgently request that you take the necessary steps to prosecute individuals, government or private entities which have caused unnecessary suffering to animals or neglected their welfare, based on contents of the Animals Act 1953 (Revised 2006).

Over the years, animal lovers have stood by and watched helplessly as municipal council workers handled stray dogs with brute force, pet owners neglected or abandoned their pets, zoo animals continued to live in deplorable conditions, and stray animals were maimed/killed by cruel individuals.

We earnestly urge you to act in all expediency to quash this kind of inhumane, arrogant behavior by Malaysians, as allowing them to continue will result in the needless suffering of hundreds of thousands of animals every year, and undoubtedly have a negative and detrimental impact on Malaysia's image worldwide.

In the last decade, only a handful of prosecutions have been initiated against animal abuse - making Malaysia a haven for animal abusers. The Department of Veterinary Services - an animal protection agency under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture - has failed to act on the various cases of animal abuse highlighted by members of the public;

• The recent viral video showing 6 Batu Pahat municipal workers using brute force on a stray dog
• Deplorable conditions in zoos nationwide
• Individuals who neglect their pets, or maim/kill defenseless stray animals
• Various viral videos that have surfaced on the Internet of a poodle being hit repeatedly, a cat being set on fire in a cage, and a family of kittens being hit, kicked and stomped to death.

FBI research indicates that animal abusers are 5 times more likely to be violent in society. When they are not punished, they continue their abuse on children, women and society at large. Consequently, Governments all over the world have begun to take animal cruelty seriously by imposing punitive cruelty penalties and have encouraged Responsible Pet Ownership.

We call on the Prime Minister of Malaysia to ensure : Immediate revision to the current legislation, to increase the penalty from RM200 to RM50,000 and a mandatory jail sentence That dog-catching is carried out solely by municipal workers under their respective municipalities, who will be held accountable for their actions The methods employed in catching and transportation will follow 'DVS Humane Guidelines 2008 on Catching and Euthanasia of Stray Dogs' Stricter enforcement and active prosecution on cases of animal cruelty by the DVS That all pet owners are encouraged to spay/neuter their pets by adopting differential licensing i.e. cheaper license fees for spay/neutered pets and much higher license fees for unspayed/unneutered pets" and the promotion of Responsible Pet Ownership