SELAYANG: After a case of dog poisoning in Seremban, canines have been found grisly butchered or burnt near the People’s Housing Project Wahyu 2 here.

Lorry driver Amar Singh, 56, and his wife Daljit Kaur, 52, who have been looking after the strays, found five puppies and their mother poisoned while three others had their legs and body chopped off.

The couple stumbled on the carcasses yesterday.

“We buried nine of them. I don’t know what to say,” said Daljit when met at the empty plot of land behind the PPR where the dogs were found.

The couple had been looking after the dogs for seven years.

“We come to give them food every day at 6pm,” she said, adding she found the puppies dead when she went to feed them yesterday.

“Someone had left a bowl of rice mixed with poison near them.

“Then, some people fishing at a nearby pond alerted us that one of our dogs was left in the mud with both its back legs chopped off. My husband rushed it to a veterinary hospital nearby but the dog is in critical condition.

“Another man also told us that he saw a man dragging another dog into some bushes on the other side of the pond before chopping it up and burning it,” she said, adding the dogs were not aggressive and there had been no complaints from residents.

“We neutered them, fed them and built a few makeshift shelters so that they don’t roam around.

“Why would anyone do something like this?” she said, adding someone had also left poisoned rice two months ago while one of the dogs was slashed in the face.

“A few dogs died eating that rice but I didn’t think it would get this bad.”

Asked if she would consider moving the dogs away, she said there were too many strays.

“There are close to 30 dogs in this area and all the shelters are full. They have nowhere else to go. We are all they have,” she said.

The couple have since contacted the police, who are looking into the case.

In Seremban, the poisoning of five dogs in Lavender Heights had triggered public outrage and concern from animal welfare groups.

The dogs – one of which had an owner – were fed food laced with rat poison last week. Their carcasses were later found by residents.

The owner said his two-year-old pet was licensed and had been vaccinated since birth.

The man, who only wished to be known as Bala, said his dog had a collar issued by the Seremban Municipal Council and was always kept in his compound.

“I went to Ipoh for work and when I came back, the dog had somehow gotten out of my house.

“I found his carcass near a drain and thought nothing of it until the residents found the bodies of four stray dogs in the same area,” he said.

On Facebook, over 200 users expressed anger over the incident and called for action against the perpetrator. FB user Felicia Chang wrote: “Poor dogs. They just want to eat to survive. Why are these people killing the innocent animals?”

Zuraidah Zainal Abidin pointed out that there were other ways to deal with strays in their neighbourhood.

“Cruel, inhumane and I cannot understand the rationale of it,” she said.

Seremban OCPD Asst Comm Thiew Hock Poh said police had started a probe into the case after receiving a report on Saturday night and advised the public not to share details on social media.

The case is being investigated under Section 428 of the Penal Code for mischief by killing or maiming animals, which carries a jail term up to three years or with a fine.