The council suspended the campaign after pressure from activists but claimed it was being put off due to the imposition of the movement control order.

Lawyers for Animal Rights (LAR) said that a leave application to initiate a judicial review on the local council’s action had been filed at the High Court in Temerloh, Pahang.

“We are concerned that this campaign by MDCH will result in rampant animal abuse, not only against strays but also domestic pet dogs that may be ‘pet-napped’ (abduction of pets belonging to others) to get the RM40 reward.

“This appalling state of affairs simply cannot be allowed to go on,” the group, comprising lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan, Sachpreetraj Singh and Arun Ganesh Boopalan, said in a statement today.

The council had taken to Facebook on Jan 27 to invite all “who wanted to make money during the MCO” to catch stray dogs to obtain a reward of RM40 per animal. The post has since been deleted after an uproar from animal lovers.

The group said such a campaign ran foul of Section 29(1)(u) of the Animal Welfare Act 2015, for organising and promoting the catching of these strays for economic gain. The offence carries a maximum RM100,000 fine and three years’ jail upon conviction.