Alleged sale of puppy meat not from our markets, say councils

A photo extracted from WeirdKaya claiming the sale of a fried puppy meat.

SIBU (July 10): Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) and Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) confirm there is no selling of fried puppy meat in markets under their jurisdictions.

This came in response to a screenshot of a seller allegedly offering fried puppy meat at RM22 per packet in Sibu, and which recently went viral and caused an uproar among netizens.

The screenshot is believed to have been uploaded by a user to a Sibu community Facebook group before it was shared by the Malaysian Animal Association, calling for the relevant authorities in Sarawak to investigate the post regarding the sale of fried puppy meat.

Chairman of SMC market and petty traders standing committee  councillor Albert Tiang said, “I can confirm that such act is not from the  markets under SMC’s jurisdiction”.

“In the first place, we never allow the selling of live animals such as dogs, puppies, kittens, rabbits, hamsters and other pets, except for paper-wrapped chicken and our public health personnel make daily rounds of close monitoring and supervision in the council’s markets,” he stressed.

When asked to comment on the photo which was allegedly taken at the ground floor of the Sibu’s market, Tiang refuted the claim while confirming that there were no stalls selling instant fried products on the ground floor of any SMC’s markets.

“That is why I can confirm that it is not at any of SMC’s markets and I believe this (photo) has been photoshopped and is likely a hoax.

“If this is real, I strongly condemn such act because dogs and puppies cannot be treated as a source of food,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, chairman of SRDC Sempurai Petrus Ngelai confirmed that none of the markets in SRDC’s jurisdiction are allowed to sell dog meat as it is prohibited under the guidelines by the local authorities.

“If they do sell it here in Sarawak, serious action should be taken,” Sempurai pointed out.

On a separate note, after all the hoo-haa it had caused on the social media, a Facebook profile by the name ‘D’liak Food’ claimed that the so-called fried puppy meat was actually a squirrel!