PetFinder Charity Fair Weekend

I have been in a state of perpetual melancholy since Louis' demise. The daily thunderstorms and the fact that I am overwhelmed with responsibilities do nothing to improve my mood.

Every week is an endless stream of football matches, reports, research papers, housework and volunteer commitments.

I am currently providing treatment and care for 2 kittens, Toby and Oscar, under Project Second Chance. If it weren't for the fact that I have to be in Singapore this weekend to play in a football match, I would be bringing home another 2 from the office, Hopscotch and Duchess, for medical treatment and vaccination. In the meantime, my colleagues will have to help me feed the two feline waifs until I am back from battle.

Last Sunday had been another wet and blustery one. It started raining when I was in the middle of giving tick baths to the SPCA dogs, so I moved on to cleaning the kennels and cattery instead. However, as the floodwaters kept rising, I decided there wasn't much point in cleaning and disinfecting the floor, and started checking on the animals in the lower-lying parts of the shelter instead. After securing tarps over the cages and making sure our drains and rain gutters were clear of obstructions, I barrelled over to Sunway Pyramid to join the SPCA Marketing & Communications team at the PetFinder 3rd Anniversary Charity Fair.

PetFinder is a local online portal with the objective of rehoming animals and reuniting lost pets with their human guardians. Unfortunately, there are no restrictions as to who may utilise its services, so it is widely used by backyard breeders and pet stores as well as rescue groups and animal welfare organisations. Still, any effort to rehabilitate and rehome animals is better than none.

The beneficiaries of the Charity Fair are:
- SPCA Selangor;
- PAWS Animal Welfare Society;
- HOPE;
- Save A Stray;
- MYAnimalCare.Org;
- Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better and Malaysian Cat Care Project; and
- Paws Mission.

While many recognise SPCA and PAWS as registered organisations and MDDB/MCCP and MY Animal Care Org as established animal rescue groups, organisations like Paws Mission and HOPE are new volunteer-run animal rescue and care groups that operate out of the homes of members and volunteers with the help of vets, much like how Project Second Chance started 3 years ago.

The Charity Fair was a resounding success, as the photos below attest:



Nicole and Kelvin attending to customers at SPCA Selangor's merchandise and outreach booth. This is Nic's standard pose.



These puppies were brought in as mascots and have already found homes. Here, the puppies receive some much-needed tender loving care from kind visitors.



Adorable Henry Cats mousepads, keychains and magnets for sale to raise funds for Paws Mission, an animal rescue and welfare group based in Old Klang Road.



Mr. Brownie the Chow-Chow raising funds for his less fortunate brethren.



Case histories, with before and after pics, from MYAnimalCare.Org.

MYAnimalCare.Org is an animal rescue & welfare organisation that also does pro bono public education and awareness work and produces publications for distribution.



"All Lives Are Precious", avers this beautiful sticker produced by MYAnimalCare.Org. I acquired one for That Special Someone and one for myself.



Bola, the 5-month-old Pomeranian, helped to raise funds for his less fortunate canine and feline friends.



"Rescued" may be my favourite breed, but I couldn't resist giving Bola a squeeze.





Adorable cell phone pouches for sale to raise funds for PAWS Animal Welfare Society. The PAWS Animal Shelter (yes, it's still running and it's
still located in Pillmoor Estate) also houses dogs captured by the Shah Alam and Subang Jaya local councils.



Easter cupcakes given out to volunteers at the end of the day. Yummers. I had the blue one and Nic had the pink one.



Escaped helium balloons adhering to the ceiling. Save-A-Stray was offering a balloon for a minimum donation of RM5, so that's RM35 over there stuck on the ceiling.



The fundraising canine team all ready to go home after 2 days of hard work. Poor doggies hardly had any rest. All the visitors wanted a photo opportunity with them.



A group photo of the representatives of the various organisations for posterity.

Cash donations amounting to RM20,362.70 were collected and distributed to the aforementioned organisations, and the organisations collectively made over RM15,000 from the sale of merchandise over the weekend. Heartiest Congratulations to PetFinder on their 3rd Anniversary and many thanks for the funds raised for these deserving animal welfare organisations.

A Final Letter to A Dear Friend

Louis Michael Sellier

16th Feb 1937 - 16th March 2011



Dear Louis,

I trust this letter finds you well and in the company of your beloved Elena. I don’t know what your beliefs on the afterlife are, but I do know that someone as good as you cannot die.


You left us exactly a month ago, Louis, and I didn’t find out until today. For that, I am racked with guilt. Forgive me, my friend. Right now my grief is so huge that it is choking me and crowding out every other concern in my mind. I have to wake up at 0500h tomorrow for a football match in Seremban, and right now I have a rescued kitten, Toby, screaming for attention in the kitchen and another rescued kitten, Oscar, who is outside in Bravo’s old cage wanting to come in but he is not allowed to because he is still under treatment for mange, but all my thoughts are filled with you.

I can’t share my sorrow with anyone else, Louis, because as far as others are concerned, I know you only through e-mail and our blogs, and therefore you aren’t a “real friend”. And your loved ones probably don’t know of my existence, or perceive me to be nothing more than another commenter in your blog, and therefore not important enough to be notified of your death. I don’t blame them for this, Louis. For who else could understand and appreciate how real our friendship is, and how much you mean to me?

How could I expect those who haven’t had the good fortune to have known you appreciate what a kind, gentle, considerate, intelligent and supportive friend you are to me as well as others, and how could they understand how much I looked up to you? I wish I could have told you when you were still alive how much I wanted to be as wise, insightful, compassionate and thoughtful as you, and how much I want my future marriage to be as full of love and strength as yours and Elena’s. No one could have understood how much your emails and your comments in my blog nourished me emotionally and encouraged me to do better. You never gushed or overpraised – you know I would have hated it and seen the insincerity in it, and besides, you couldn’t be dishonest or hypocritical if you tried. Your views were always balanced; always full of humility, kindness and empathy. In this troubled world of ours, where there is so much anger, hostility and self-righteous airing of opinions, I look up to you as someone who is fair-minded and principled.

The last time you wrote to me was on March 3, before you left for Arizona, and you had expressed your intention to come to Malaysia. I had told you of my plans to plant a tree for Elena and informed you that I have managed to secure a plot for Elena’s Tree in the Kota Damansara Community Forest, and you had requested to be there for the tree-planting ceremony. I had looked forward to your visit, and had planned to take leave from work so I could take you to all my favourite places during your visit.

Your silence since then had left me uneasy, but I had attributed it to you being on holiday and therefore away from your iPad and PC. It was not until Pak Idrus and Pat expressed the same uneasiness that we started asking other bloggers and netizens in earnest if they had any news of you.

I did think of you on March 16, Louis, but it was an optimistic thought, with no premonition of your passing. I had been having dinner at Vegelife Cafe with Vegan Eugene and other friends. It was a restaurant I had reviewed before, and you had described my review as “appetising”, and on March 16 I had thought of the dishes I would recommend to you when you came to Malaysia. I guess I won’t have the chance to buy you dinner anymore, will I?


I have never believed that relationships end with death, Louis, and I will never believe that you and I will not meet again. We will meet again, someday, and until then, I will do my best to keep your legacy of gentle wisdom alive.

So long, buddy. I will never forget you.




P/S: I guess I will be planting 2 trees now, instead of just one.

P/P/S: The next animal I rescue will be named Hopscotch, in your honour.

P/P/P/S: I know you will be watching me at football (i.e. soccer) tomorrow. Just don’t laugh when I fumble or screw up, okay?

Hodge Podge

What with the Sarawak State Elections, work, letters to the Press to be drafted, volunteer commitments, animal care duties and football practice every other day, I didn't have the time to post a blog entry last week.

A Fortnight's Roundup, In Photos:

26th March 2011: The 6th CETDEM Hari Organik was held at the SS2 public park. The objectives of Hari Organik are to encourage consumers to purchase and consume local produce, to help new organic farmers/traders establish their market, to promote healthy and environmentally-conscious living, and inculcate community spirit. Visitors and consumers were encouraged to bring their own shopping bags and food containers to the event to minimise packaging and waste.

26th March 2011: Children "fishing" out cards bearing the photos of vegetables to help them learn to identify and recognise local and seasonal vegetables.




26th March 2011: I purchased more organic vegetable seeds than I needed but was fortunate in that there were many takers for the seeds. My friends and I now have a seed network started. It's only a matter of time before we can start harvesting our own vegetables.



Bird Plant (Pedilanthus bracteatus) finally in bloom in my parents' garden. Can you spot the bird-like inflorescence?



Chilling out at Sunway Lagoon on 1.4.2011 with two of my best friends, Glyn and Nicole (i.e. Glycol) before Glyn's return to the UK. Here they are waiting for the arapaima fish that never surfaced.



1.4.2011: Making Zoo Check observations and notes at the Sunway Lagoon Wildlife Park after I have had enough of splashing around and swallowing chlorinated water at the water park.

This is my latest rescued kitten, Toby. I found him wandering in my office car park with skinny limbs and a belly bloated with worms on 4.4.2011. We are very lucky in that we have already found him a home through my network of friends. Thank you, Chelvi K., for offering to adopt Toby!



Latest rescued kitten, Toby. Age: 2-3 months. Breed: Domestic Short Hair Medical History: Dewormed on 7 & 8 April 2011 Given flea bath on 5.4.2011 Vaccinated on 9.4.2011.



When I brought Toby to Dr. Steven Yoon of Healing Pets Animal Clinic for vaccination, the doctor and his wife very generously gave me a bag of pet food and treats for the SPCA animals when they realised that I would be going there to help out in the afternoon. Here are their kind contributions sitting in the shelter office.



12th April 2011: It's time for another quarterly visit to the National Blood Bank! I requested statistics this time around and was very pleased to learn that there was almost zero wastage of blood at this facility. Due to the high demand for blood in government and community hospitals, almost all blood donated is put to good use, and the only blood destroyed is tainted or diseased blood.



12th April 2011: One of these days I'm gonna steal me a kidney dish and serve Chex Mix in it.



12th April 2011: A gift, for me? Why, thank you! It's...umm... a little splotch of blood. I'm absolutely charmed! How very kind of you.

Covert Operations, OUT.

Letter to the Editor: Crow-Shooting Inhumane and Ineffective

The morons from the MPAJ Municipal Council wouldn't even let me bathe dogs in peace at the SPCA on Saturday, what with the pellets whizzing past my head and the dogs and cats yelping with fear and diving for cover, so I have decided that I would bring out my secret weapon, and prove that.... The Pen May Indeed Be Mightier Than The Pellet Gun!!!



LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
CROW SHOOTING INHUMANE AND INEFFECTIVE


The peace of the residents of and pedestrians at Ampang Jaya was disrupted on Saturday, 26th March, when MPAJ municipal council officers roamed the area with pellet guns in a crow-shooting operation.

Shooting as a means of controlling the population of crows is cruel and inhumane, as death, if it happens, is often not instantaneous. Birds are often maimed or injured by the pellets, and even if the shooter is an expert marksman, it cannot be denied that accidents may occur, causing injury to non-target birds and other animals. In addition, if the justification for the shooting operations is that the crows have become a nuisance, then it cannot be refuted that the shooting operations also constitute a nuisance. The noise from the pellets fired startle and distress people and other animals, as well as cause other birds to eliminate waste in fear, creating further hygiene problems in locations that are already besieged with cleanliness issues. Shooting crows is also impractical and time-consuming, as the crows take flight after the first shot is released and the shooters then have to cover great distances on foot to look for roosting crows again.

It is not without reason that some areas are more beset with scavenging crow and rodent populations than others. Crows are a symptom and not a cause of the problem of cleanliness. Crows congregate in areas such as hawker centres where food waste is left in the open and where well-intentioned but poorly informed residents leave food out for birds, macaques and other animals. Homeowners and local authorities in North America managed to resolve the problem of scavenging animals by switching to raccoon and bear-proof food storage units and waste bins, thus reducing human-animal conflict. We can adapt these tried-and-tested methods by enforcing regulations to ensure that all household and commercial food waste is disposed of in secure and covered receptacles. Unsanitary eateries and markets must face penalties for failing to comply with these requirements, and consumers must be educated not to patronise eateries that leave food and waste matter exposed. Grills and drain covers can be installed over drains to deter hawkers from pouring food waste into the drains, a dirty habit which leads to water pollution, flash floods and an increase in disease vector populations. Once these food sources are no longer available to crows, their population will disperse and reduce in number.

Despite popular belief, crows are not prolific breeders. They breed between April to July each year, mostly in large trees with big crowns. Understanding the natural history of the common house crow is essential if we are to find ways to manage their population. Municipal workers can be trained to identify crow nests and eggs and remove and destroy the unhatched eggs instead of killing adult crows.

There are many non-lethal alternatives to shooting, poisoning or trapping in managing the crow population, the most important of which is to improve cleanliness and to eliminate food sources. Property owners can repel crows from their premises with the use of recordings of the cries of hawks or the distress calls of other crows, which will lead crows to believe that there is a predatory bird in the area. Shiny, reflective objects such as unwanted CDs and holographic tape can scare away crows, as does the installation of plastic owls, scarecrows and bird ‘spikes’ that prevent crows from perching and roosting in one’s compound. It must be remembered that crows are highly intelligent birds that do not remain afraid or gullible for very long, and property owners and municipal officers must alternate between methods and pick different locations from time to time.

The local authorities and Ministry of Health must appreciate that areas with a high population density will always generate more waste, thus attracting more scavenging animals. The key to reducing human-animal conflict is not to continuously cull the population of animals deemed to be a nuisance, for the temporary vacuum it produces will only create opportunities for other scavenging populations to expand. The key to reducing human-animal conflict lies in reducing opportunities for disease vectors and unwelcome specie to breed, feed and reach adulthood in the first place.


WONG EE LYNN
PETALING JAYA


(Note: Please do not ask why I chose to use the cover of Ted Hughes' "Crow". The late Mr. Edward James Hughes and I go back a long way. All the way back to 1996, in fact.)

GAWS-SPCA Animal Welfare Legislation & CSI Workshop

When animal welfare hits the headlines, everyone rightfully demands action, but how many people actually know what animal protection laws are in place in Malaysia?

Who has the powers to search, seize, arrest and prosecute in a case of animal cruelty? Following the recent incidents in Malaysia in which a man was filmed using harsh and abusive methods to train a poodle named Sushi and another incident in which a young woman's depraved act of killing stray kittens and abusing a mother cat was caught on a CCTV, the SPCA has been urged by poorly-informed members of the public and Netizens to "find Sushi's abuser" and "catch them and punish them".

More worryingly, some internet users made attempts to carry out vigilante justice by identifying and vilifying individuals who they believed were the animal abuser in the former video clip, causing great distress to the maligned party and great inconvenience to the police and the SPCA, and actually hindered our investigations.

The aforementioned members of the public and internet users, though well-intentioned, caused great harm when they decided to play the role of judge, jury and executioner, without having clear and conclusive evidence.

What is evidence, and when is evidence not evidence that can be used in Court? How can you, as an animal rescuer or member of the public, get involved? If you choose to carry out your own investigations, do you know how to do so safely, legally and accurately?

Global Animal Welfare Solutions and SPCA Selangor conducted 2 Animal Welfare Legislation and CSI workshops on 19th & 20th March in an attempt to answer just these questions.

The workshops were aimed at animal rescuers who might want to gather evidence to make a police or DVS report, veterinary surgeons who wish to know more about how they can provide expert evidence, and members of the public who wish to learn more about animal welfare issues both in Malaysia and overseas.

I had a minor role in the workshop as Glyn's co-facilitator and I covered the topic of "Animal Protection Laws in Malaysia", namely:
i. Animals Act 1953 (Act 647);
ii. Penal Code (Act 574);
iii. Wildlife Conservation Act 2010; and
iv. Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171)

This was followed by a discussion on how and to whom to report offences against any of the abovementioned acts.

Glyn's sessions, which came after mine, were far more interesting, practical and engaging, and covered the following topics:
i. What constitutes evidence, how to collect and present it in a legal manner. How to write a police report, veterinary statement and record investigation information.
ii. Photographic evidence and Crime Scene Investigation.
iii. Animal Welfare Investigation Techniques.

The Saturday session was attended by 21 participants (my personal target was 15, so I would consider this a resounding success), most of whom are professionals such as veterinarians, personnel and volunteers from other SPCAs and animal welfare organisations, lawyers and pupils-in-chambers, an individual from the film industry, journalists and a veterinarian cum lecturer.



The new SPCA Education Centre, with furniture and furnishings very kindly sponsored by HSBC Malaysia.



Glyn starts his workshop on gathering and evaluating evidence.



That's a bit of a dog's tail and two bits of twist-ties, in case it's not clear to you.



Stick to the facts and stay accurate! Don't rely on conjecture or express opinions!



Big dog, overturned cage, tangled chain, lots of poo. Speaks for itself, doesn't it?



A close-up look at the poor dog reveals flesh wounds caused by the choke chain cutting into the dog's neck.



Glyn taking more questions from the floor.



Glyn and I handing out certificates and CSI Animal Welfare baseball caps to participants who successfully completed the workshop.



Front view of the first sample of the CSI Animal Welfare baseball cap. Photo taken by Nicole. I haven't collected my own cap yet.



A group photo for posterity.



If you missed the workshop, but would like to learn more about animal cruelty investigation techniques, you can purchase a copy of the Global Animal Welfare Solutions Animal Cruelty Investigation Field Manual from Glyn or me.

The workshop and manual are recommended for animal rescuers, veterinarians and animal lovers who want a better idea of how animal cruelty inspectors work and how they, as concerned Good Samaritans, can assist in investigations and court proceedings.

Come Together: Raptor Watch 2011

What is it about animal migrations that fascinates humans so much? Could it be that we are awed and humbled by the distances animals are willing to travel, relying only on their instincts, and the hardships they are willing to endure just to ensure the survival of their species? Could it be that the sight of large-scale animal movement evokes emotion in us because it brings back certain atavistic memories of a time when human communities too indulged in large-scale movement and relocation, driven by changes in climate and scarcity of food and water sources? Or could it just be that animals have in themselves such beauty, grace and intelligence that observing them engaging in natural behaviours and partaking in journeys fills us with joy and the reassurance that we are all part of something larger than ourselves?

It didn't always use to be this way. As I have previously mentioned in my 2008 Raptor Watch blogpost, raptor migration used to be a phenomenon that was of interest only to the scientific community. It only became an event of mainstream interest due to the efforts of the Malaysian Nature Society in educating the public, mobilising and capitalising on mass media and lobbying the legislators and elected representatives.

Raptor Watch 2011 saw a number of improvements compared to previous years. There was better media coverage and education and awareness initiatives. We had a higher turnout of visitors, especially from schools and the local community. We maintained and improved on ideas that worked -- water refilling stations and recycling bins, for instance -- and eliminated ideas that didn't work, such as having corporate sponsors hijack the event. We generated very little waste but a lot of positive attention and publicity. It was a memorable and enjoyable weekend for all.

I was again part of the organising committee for this year and my contributions including emceeing together with Lillian, conducting an admittedly tough Green Living Quiz together with Cindy and organising The Raptor Watch 2011 Amazing Race, where teams of 2 race to solve clues and complete a series of 5 challenges.

What did we get for all our hard work, besides the feeling of satisfaction that comes from a job well done? For me, it wasn't merely a weekend of hard work but also one of parties and camaraderie with my friends in the Nature Guides and of strengthening my commitment to and bond with Mother Nature.



Video from the official MNS Raptor Watch Website: Raptors (mostly Oriental Honey-Buzzards) in flight over Tanjung Tuan.







My Nature Guide buddies, Pasu, Rangamal and Karthik, at their booth on Saturday, getting ready to register participants for the Forest Walks. We saw a marked increase in visitors registering for all our guided walks this year, and this kept all our Guides on their toes until late on Sunday afternoon.







Visitors checking out the various attractions at our booths. Our
booths offered everything from merchandise, games and educational activities to opportunities to be involved in conservation issues in Malaysia.







Here I am, playing the Can Knockdown game at one of our funfair-type game booths before we packed up on Saturday. Most of our games used discarded materials for the games equipment and props, such as egg cartons for the ball toss game and the cardboard cores of adhesive tape for the ring toss game.







Visitors engaging in beach activities such as kayaking and banana boat rides at the cove outside our event grounds.







Visitors watching an uncharacteristically late flock of over 1,000 Oriental Honey-Buzzards flying in around 1700 hrs on Saturday. Raptors usually prefer to fly around noon, when there are more hot-air thermals.





A group photo of the volunteers for posterity.







Lili and John taking a breather at the deck chairs by the beach at Casa Rachardo, where we were staying, before dinner on Saturday night.




Ilham Resort looked like a fairyland at night.








We adjourned to Pasu's house for a party after the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at Ilham Resort on Saturday night.







The Raptor Watch Amazing Race was flagged off on Sunday morning. I am full of praise for the 10 volunteers who learned up their roles as Race Marshalls within 5 minutes. The Race went well and Christa, one of the participants, is seen here trying to complete the final challenge, which involved trying to identify birds. Christa and Raj came in second in the Open Category.







Rodhi and Mary try to solve the final challenge in the Amazing Race. They came in third in the Race.







My friends Ilyas and Tina beat everyone else to come in first in the Open Category of the Amazing Race. They won a camping bag containing 2 sets of holiday vouchers, Bros water bottles, jackets, recycled paper products and some other goodies.







Renowned bird artist Mr. Teh Yew Kiang offered a lesson in sketching birds and still life objects on Sunday afternoon. His 2-hour art workshop was very well received and highly appreciated. I hope he volunteers to give us an art lesson again next year.







Along with other participants of the art workshop, I learned the finer points of shading and highlighting still life objects. When Mr. Teh learned of my interest in cartooning, he gave me valuable pointers in illustrating cartoons as well. "Exaggerate the features", he advised. "Make the eyes bigger, the snout shorter, the nose upturned for a cuter look". I was thrilled with the results.







In the early evening after the close of the event, I took myself on a walk up to the Cape Rachardo lighthouse. The paved trail through the forest reserve was full of daytrippers, mostly young families and gaggles of college students. I was pleased to see people getting in touch with Nature.







The lighthouse greeted me like a faithful old friend.







A view of the sea from the lighthouse.








We repaired to Pasu's house in Port Dickson again on Sunday after Raptor Watch, and had a cookout in her lovely garden. What fun it is to eat smoky charred vegetables and corn-on-the-cob in the company of one's friends! Everything tastes better when you are tired but contented.








Karthik and John play a game of one-on-one football after the meal. What a high-energy ending to a high-energy weekend!