IPOH, Nov 4 — An animal rights group enraged over alleged shooting incidents of stray dogs by local authorities in Kampar.

Persatuan Pencinta Haiwan Jalanan Kampar said that they received messages from feeders and concerned members of the public that there was a spate of dog shootings by the Kampar District Council over the last two weeks.

"We are distressed by the information as in the previous meeting with the officers of the council, we were told that the council does not have a policy of shooting strays,” it said in a statement.

The group also said that the recent shooting incidents were not new as it claims that there were occasions of stray dog killing in the district.

"However, we were not given any photographic or video evidence, so we avoided making public statements on this matter while trying to involve the council in forging a more humane solution and getting the story from the council’s side.

"Unfortunately, over the past year our attempts to meet them have been in vain. We did not receive any feedback or indication that they would like to work with us proactively,” the statement read.

The group also said that they have no information whether the council has changed its policy on not to kill innocent strays.

"We would like to condemn the actions of any person or organisation that does not value the lives of any living beings. 

"We always try to involve the local council in our efforts to control the stray population in Kampar and the council knows full well that our position is to bring down the population through proper spaying or neutering procedures and not just kill them,” it said.

"We cannot and will not, in good conscience, allow the arbitrary shooting and killing of wild animals. 

"Perhaps it will benefit the council to remember that all living beings have the right to life,” it added.

The pictures of the alleged shooting incident of strays were also shared by the Keranji assemblyman Chong Zhemin on his Facebook posting.