Her Royal Highness the Tengku Permaisuri of Selangor, Tengku Permaisuri Hajah Norashikin, has called for stronger action against those responsible for animal cruelty, including officers and members of enforcement agencies.
In a media statement issued by Istana Alam Shah today (Aug 3), Her Royal Highness expressed deep sorrow, disappointment and anger over recent cases involving cruelty towards pets and stray animals, particularly dogs and cats.
No form of animal cruelty will be tolerated
As the Royal Patron of the Stray Free Selangor initiative managed by SPCA Selangor, Her Royal Highness said that torturing, injuring, killing or treating animals cruelly was not only against the law.
Such acts also reflected society’s failure to uphold compassion towards living beings and the values of humanity that form the foundation of a civilised society.
Her Royal Highness stressed that no form of animal cruelty would be accepted or tolerated.
This applied regardless of who the perpetrator was, their position, race, religion or the justification given for their actions.
No one is above the law,” the statement read.
Her Royal Highness added that this position applied to all parties, including individuals, organisations, companies, government agencies and authorities.
Authorities should not be exempt from investigation
Her Royal Highness said any party found to have committed acts of animal cruelty should be thoroughly investigated and subjected to appropriate legal action.
This included cases where the alleged acts were committed by members or officers of the authorities themselves.
Her Royal Highness said public trust in enforcement institutions could only be maintained when every action was carried out professionally, with integrity and compassion.
Enforcement should not involve unnecessary force or actions that cause animals to suffer, Her Royal Highness added.
Calls for humane animal management
Her Royal Highness called on the government, local authorities, relevant agencies, animal welfare organisations and members of the public to work together to strengthen animal welfare practices.
This included ensuring that the rescue, treatment, management and protection of animals were carried out humanely.
Her Royal Highness also called for compassion to become the foundation of every policy and action involving animal management.
Education, public awareness and community involvement should begin at a young age to encourage people to care for and respect animals.
Her Royal Highness said Selangor should strive to become a state where every animal was protected, respected and treated with dignity.
The values of “Compassion. Care. Community.” should also be shared in efforts to build a more caring and humane society.
Calls for tougher penalties under Animal Welfare Act
Her Royal Highness also called on the Federal Government to review the penalties under the Animal Welfare Act 2015.
The punishments imposed on those responsible for animal cruelty should be strengthened and enforced more consistently, Her Royal Highness said.
Her Royal Highness added that the way people treated animals reflected who they were as human beings.
A society that failed to show compassion towards the most vulnerable creatures would eventually lose its sense of compassion towards fellow human beings, the statement read.
Her Royal Highness urged all parties to learn from recent incidents and work together to ensure Selangor upheld the values of compassion, justice and responsibility towards all of Allah’s creations.
Compassion is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, the ability to protect the most vulnerable creatures is the true measure of the strength, maturity and civilisation of a society,” Her Royal Highness said.
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