Scenes of starvation and death greeted tourists who signed up for horse riding on the beach while enjoying their holiday in Sabah, Malaysia.
The tourists had visited the Melinsung ranch located 20 mins South
of Kota Kinabalu to sign up for the activity. What they found left them
sickened. Starving and weak horses, some unable to stand, were kept in
dirty paddocks and stables in and around the ranch. The horses had skin
diseases, open wounds and infected sores, and there were reports of
many dead and dying horses.
The tourists reported the
distressing scenes to the World Society for the Protection of Animals
(WSPA) in June 2007. Photos of the sick animals, posted on a forum in
New Zealand, also reached WSPA, which quickly contacted its member
society, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA),
Selangor, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to pressure the authorities
to do something about the situation.
The SPCA reported the
problem to the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) in Sabah through
the central DVS in Kuala Lumpur. The DVS enforces Malaysia’s animal
protection law, and visited the horrific site in June 2007 (and a
follow up visit January 2008), and decided it would simply monitor the
case and work with the owner to improve the conditions of the horses.
The owner of the Ranch is Datuk Abdul Ghani Rashid, ex-Mayor of Kota
Kinabalu. When the DVS visited the ranch in June there were 70 horses.
Now latest reports from SPCA Representative Sue Quek, state that “There
are only around 30 left and animals are still suffering and dying.”
Subject: Dying To Be Rescued - pls read.... 
4/4/2008, 5:42 pm
