PUTRAJAYA, Nov 28 — Animal rights activists, who brought the carcasses of four dead puppies to the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) headquarters, have successfully pressured the agency to reopen a nine-month-old animal cruelty investigation into the deaths.
The DVS has now instructed its Shah Alam branch to resume the probe into the deaths of the litter of puppies in Kuang, Free Malaysia Today reported.
The protest was organised by the Global Human Rights Federation (GHRF) and Persatuan Haiwan Terbiar Malaysia after they learned the case had been closed.
GHRF president S. Shashi Kumar said he was informed of the department’s decision to reopen the case after meeting with a representative during the demonstration.
Shashi described the initial decision by the Shah Alam DVS to close the case due to a “lack of concrete evidence” as “unacceptable.”
He insisted that evidence pointing to the culprits responsible for the puppies’ deaths had been presented when the complaint was first lodged nine months ago.
The department confirmed to the media that the case had been referred back to its Shah Alam branch but declined to comment further.
Shashi said the groups are now hopeful the authorities will pursue the case vigorously.
“I hope they will haul those responsible to court,” he said.