Catch more than 150 stray dogs within six months and you might just win at least RM11,000.
This competition was announced by the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) recently to solve the stray dog problem in the area.
It is open to residents.
However, the dog-catching competition drew a lot of flak from animal lovers and pet owners who described the move as inhumane and distasteful.
Council president Zainal Abidin Azim said the competition was introduced as it received about 80 complaints about stray dogs every month.
He said that despite catching about 200 stray dogs every month as part of their animal control management, the problem remained unsolved.
The chairman of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Selangor (SPCA), Christine Chin, said that the MPS was setting an unhealthy and unethical trend that encouraged people to perceive dog-catching as fun and financially rewarding.
Chin questioned the methods that residents might resort to, which could cause unnecessary pain and suffering if the dogs were maimed in the process.
Spokesman for non-governmental group Furry Friends Sabrina Yeap said that MPS should use the reward money to engage professional dog-catchers instead of relying on residents who were not trained to nab stray dogs.
Under the rules of the competition, residents can work with their respective resident committees or any other organisation, but must deliver the dogs alive.
Photographs of the captured dogs are to be submitted as proof and the council will provide tools for those interested in taking part in the competition.
The first-prize winner will walk home with RM15,000; the runner-up RM13,000 while the third -placed winner will win RM11,000.
The minimum capture for the top three winners must be at least 150 dogs each.
Each month, the council pays RM20 for each stray dog caught as an incentive to the dog-catchers.
