WAY TO GO DEWGEM.

Way to go Dewgem. Dear friends please give this effort your fullest support so that the animal abusing idiots in our country will know that they cannot abuse animals and get away with it.

By May 27, 2010

Group: Don’t exploit animals
By MARTIN CARVALHO and JASON LIOH
malacca@thestar.com.my


MALACCA: A group of animal lovers plan to gather at a well-known resort in Alor Gajah here on Saturday to create awareness about the abuse of tigers and other wildlife by unscrupulous parties in the country.

The group, which created a Facebook page named Stop Animal Abuse A Famosa, had recently put the word out on the Internet urging animal lovers to voice their dissatisfaction over treatment of animals.

Dewgem Yen, one of the four creators of the Facebook page, said they were not targeting the resort over the recent claims of abuse of one of its tigers.

“We want to create greater awareness that wild animals should not be exploited for profit.

“It is not just about the tigers but the treatment of our wild animals in general,” she said, when contacted.

The Facebook page had sent out about 1,500 invitations so far with 71 indicating their interest to attend the gathering.

When contacted, A Famosa Resort general manager Allan Chee said they were aware of the gathering.

“We welcome them to take a tour of our safari to see for themselves how our animals are kept and treated,” he said, adding that the move was a sincere gesture to show that their animals were not abused as alleged.

He clarified that the safari had stopped using two of its tigers for photography sessions with patrons since April.

“The tiger that appeared in the Feb 18 video on YouTube was used only to usher in the Tiger Year during Chinese New Year festivities here.

“We stopped doing it after being advised by the Wildlife Department officers who carried out a spot check here,” he said.

He added the resort only became aware of the issue on May 19 when it received ten emails complaining of animal abuse.

Meanwhile, Malacca Society Against the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (SPCA) president Vincent Low lauded the move by the wildlife authorities to advise the resort to stop its tiger photography sessions.

He also urged the resort to ensure that their animal handlers were professionally trained.

The 500ha resort recently became embroiled in controversy when a YouTube video titled Tiger Being Abused For Money surfaced in February depicting what seemed to be a drugged tiger being forced to pose for photographs.