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
Choong lives with her rescue cats in Penang Island and has managed this project in-country since shortly after IAPWA secured the MOU with MBPP. Prior to this, Choong was the Vice President & Head of Administration at a local animal welfare charity and a Senior Lecturer at Penang College. She is passionate about making a difference to the lives of strays on the island.

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.

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Some of our other patients who now have a bright future thanks to this programme

Achievements during 2021

New IAPWA Vet Clinic
Launching a Veterinary Clinic on site to neuter, vaccinate and treat stray dogs
Recruitment of Vet and Vet Assistant
Recruiting a Vet and a Veterinary Assistant as the first members of our our-site Veterinary Team
Developing Veterinary Services
Not only continuing but developing our veterinary services lifeline throughout the pandemic
Finding supportive, forever homes for over 200 animals
Finding homes for over 200 dogs who would otherwise have struggled to survive on the streets
Growing our Adoption & Foster Care Team
Recruiting a member of staff to expand our in-country Adoption & Foster Care Team
Community Engagement
Recruiting a Community Engagement Manager to work closely with the government to create a compassionate community for strays
Conducting Research
Conducting two comprehensive roaming dog surveys as part of our monitoring & evaluation needs to measure the impact of our work
Fundraising
Developing the IAPWA Penang Island fundraising program as part of in-country financial sustainability goals

Goals for 2022 and beyond

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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.

Discover more about IAPWA's projects in Borneo and Romania

Borneo

IAPWA has worked in Borneo since shortly after we were established in 2009, providing a much-needed lifeline to the many dogs and cats in need of help in this area
READ MORE

Romania

Through our Romania programme we are committed to creating a positive impact in the long term whilst also tackling the immediate welfare needs of the animals who live there
READ MORE