The advocacy by the Bachelor of Communication (Honours) Public Relations students for the strays’ welfare stemmed from their hearts of love to raise awareness among students on the issue of stray cats and dogs, promote understanding of strays’ welfare, and call for compassionate actions for improving the plight of stray animals. Henceforth, a talk, as part of their Stray Radar Campaign, was organised on 1 April 2024, at UTAR Kampar Campus to strengthen their efforts and achieve the objectives set.

The turnout, which consisted of students and academics, was positive. The participants’ interest was heightened as they learned more about the ways for the public to support stray issues when the invited speaker from a non-governmental organisation focusing on animal welfare, Mutts & Mittens, Ms Janet Choy, spoke on the matter. She enlightened participants on the difficulties faced by stray cats and dogs, the challenges faced by temporary shelters, the volunteer efforts, and ways to address the issues. The sharing of experience by Ms Chua, a volunteer, piqued their interests further.

Mr Chong Choon Kit, the founder of Mutts & Mittens, said in his speech, “I would like to address the low awareness of responsible pet ownership among the public, which is a major reason for the increasing number of stray cats and dogs in Malaysia. Therefore, this talk also aimed to educate university students about responsible pet ownership.”

In support, Mr Siaw Mun Choon, Chairperson of the Stray Radar Campaign, expressed, “From volunteering activities at stray animal shelters to today’s educational talk, besides helping students realise the plight of stray cats and dogs, our Stray Radar campaign is dedicated to increase university students’ awareness of stray welfare, and encourage more students to participate in volunteering activities.”

At the end of the event, witnessed by lecturers and students, all committees of Stray Radar donated dog food and rice to Mutts & Mittens as a token of appreciation.