On the 11th of January 2025, around 500 animal rights activists from across Malaysia attended a candlelight vigil at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, in memory of Kopi, the dog killed last year in a stray-culling operation by the Besut municipal council in Terengganu.
The event was organised by four organisations: the Malaysian Animal Welfare Association (Mawa), Persatuan Haiwan Terbiar Malaysia, the Global Human Rights Federation (GHRF), and Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia.
Lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan said to FMT, “Our demands were for the perpetrators of Kopi’s murder to be brought to justice.” S Shashi Kumar, GHRF president, said, “We are urging the government to adopt the humane approach of trap, neuter and release instead of resorting to the inhumane practice of killing stray animals…This is not an isolated issue. It reflects a national concern that requires the government’s urgent attention and action.”
A memorandum on the matter was handed to MPs at the Parliament Building on the 12th of November 2024.
On the 9th of January 2025, the four animal rights groups applied for an injunction to prevent the Besut district council from shooting any more stray dogs pending the disposal of a lawsuit against the council and Terengganu government over the allegedly unlawful killing of Kopi. Dr Kartini Farah Abdul Rahim, S Mukunan, Hong Hai San and Shashi filed the suit against the state government and district council last month. Rajesh said the injunction application was filed in the Kuala Terengganu High Court and served on the 6th of January on the state government and district council, who filed applications to strike out the lawsuit on the 1st of January and 31st of December, respectively.
Malaysian authorities do not seem to be particularly animal-friendly. In March 2024, the Malaysian animal protection organisation Animal Rights urged the Hang Tuah Jaya municipal council (MPHTJ) in Melaka, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Malacca, to call off its campaign to shoot down crows with the excuse of controlling their population, as they considered this campaign unlawful. In February, animal rights groups protested the culling of crocodiles carried out by the Sabah Wildlife Department of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan).
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