Penang Island
Thousands of strays live on Penang Island and with no humane dog population management programme in place, many were caught and sadly killed. Since our Penang Island Project was established in 2017, it has saved the lives of thousands of dogs who would otherwise have suffered a sad fate under the previous regime.
After hearing about our work in Borneo, the authorities in Penang Island (MBPP) contacted IAPWA to discuss how we could work with them to change this situation. In September 2017, we signed an agreement (MOU) as the first partner of the Penang Island City Council to establish and manage a humane programme for the strays and provide them with the support they needed.
As a result of the Penang Island Project, dogs are no longer culled and are instead neutered, vaccinated, provided with any additional veterinary care they need and either released back to their community or found supportive homes within our Adoption Programme.
Each dog we care for now has a future and we are extremely proud to be able to manage and develop this programme, alongside our colleagues in the IAPWA Penang Team, to save the lives of thousands of strays who need our help.
Choong Koon Yean, Programme Manager
About the Penang Island Project
Our Penang Island project is our second project in Malaysia, established following our work within our first project in Sabah, Borneo
We ended the killing of strays through the government MOU which has now been extended until 2025 between MBPP, IAPWA and our colleagues in IAPWA Penang
Thousands of dogs have been neutered, vaccinated and provided with the veterinary care they need through this important project
Hundreds of dogs have found supportive homes in Penang Island through our in-country Adoption and Foster Care Programme
Outside of our important, core work for stray dogs, our IAPWA Penang Island team also support cats on the island where and when this is possible
A local entity, IAPWA Penang Island was established following our MOU, to work alongside our UK team to develop this programme
Finn's Story - from scared and alone to a happy home
Handsome boy Finn was rescued as a stray from the streets of Penang Island with painful tumours covering his face and body. It was an incredibly sad sight to see and our team were desperate to help him. After lots of veterinary treatment and support, this brave boy made a full recovery and was quickly adopted by a loving family in Penang Island who have since adopted a second dog from us, meaning Finn now has a furry sibling! Finn is now thriving in his new home. Thank you so much for your support – we couldn’t have helped Finn without you.
Some of our other patients who now have a bright future thanks to this programme
Achievements during 2021
Goals for 2022 and beyond
- Hitting our 2022 target of 4,500 dogs saved within this project since it was established
- Developing capacity within our Veterinary team
- Recruiting another full-time member of staff into our Kennels team
- Finding 200 homes in-country for dogs and puppies through our Adoption and Foster Care Programme
- Developing our Community Engagement Programme
- Working closely with the government to successfully resolve issues relating to stray dogs
- Delivering training to the government catching team as part of our ongoing commitment to development
- Developing our monitoring & evaluation strategy including a new survey mechanism across our projects
Donate to help animals in Penang Island
If you would like to make a difference to the lives of animals in Penang Island, please support our work with a kind donation today. With your support we can make an even bigger difference to the lives of thousands of strays who need our help.