RAWANG: Photos of five stray dogs found dead in the Tasik Puteri Rawang area here have gone viral, with some believing that the dogs were poisoned.

The photos were posted on the Malaysian Animal Association (MAA) Facebook page on Wednesday (Nov 13), and have since drawn an outpouring of outrage from people like Khairina Anuar, who condemned the deaths.

“What were their faults to deserve such treatment. No religion teaches its followers to be cruel towards animals, ” she said.

Similar views were shared by Fadira Omar, who said there was no need to resort to poisoning the strays.

“Do they think God is not watching them, ” she said.

Che Mas Mayzatul Mastura added that although she had been chased by strays in the past, it never crossed her mind to kill them.

“How evil were you to inflict pain to them by poisoning them? This is simply cruel, ” she commented.

A similar comment was made by Carina Tan, who said that the act was uncivilised.

“These strays had no proper shelter and food. Instead of helping them, you killed them. That is inhumane, ” she said.

When contacted, MAA president Arie Dwi Andika said he was alerted to the incident by an independent animal rescuer in Rawang on 10am on Wednesday.

"I was informed that three strays were found dead around 5pm on Tuesday (Nov 12) along Jalan Tasik Puteri, while two more dead strays were found this morning.

“There was vomit and blood near their mouth, which led us to believe that they were poisoned. The MAA will lodge a report with the Veterinary Services Department for further action," he said.

Arie urged anyone with information about the matter to send a WhatsApp to the MAA at 011-20901097.

“We must bring the perpetrator(s) to justice, ” he said.

Arie also condemned the act as inhumane, saying that there are better ways to handle strays.

“Individuals must not take matters into their own hands even if they feel inconvenienced by the strays. They should alert the local councils to ensure more humane management of the strays, ” he said.