Drury-Wee (second right) presents a certificate of appreciation to a recipient. Also seen are Uggah and SSPCA chair Rebecca D’Cruz (right). — Photos by Chimon Upon
Uggah (seventh left), Drury-Wee (eighth left) and SSPCA chair Rebecca D’Cruz (left) are seen with SSPCA staff and volunteers.
KUCHING: Kuching remains the only city in Malaysia where the local authorities have a formal agreement with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to promote animal welfare.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said through this arrangement, Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) takes in all abandoned, abused and unwanted animals picked-up by council teams.
“Our partnership has included joint neutering programmes under SSPCA’s Capture, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return programme as a means to curb the stray animal population. More recently, the SSPCA has been working with the state government to address the rabies outbreak,” he said in a speech for SSPCA’s 55th Emerald Anniversary Dinner on Monday, which was read by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
Looking ahead, Abang Johari said SSPCA has much to do to strengthen animal welfare in Sarawak.
“Education is key; we have to teach the younger generation to care for animals. I understand that SSPCA has been giving talks at schools and institutions of higher learning to educate the next generation on the need to care for the animals. I commend them for this.
“Enforcement is also key; we are seeing more and more reports on animal abuse, and more pets being abandoned on the streets and markets in Kuching. As we move towards achieving developed state status by 2030, we need to address these issues and nurture a culture of care and concern for animals.”
He called for an extension of the partnership to include other sectors of society, including business, industry, and civil society.
“I call on the business and industry sectors in particular, to support and join our efforts to make Kuching and Sarawak a model state in terms of animal welfare,” he said.
SSPCA president Datin Dona Drury-Wee called on the people to be responsible pet owners.
“People sometimes feel they have the ‘right’ to dump their animals on SSPCA because they tell us ‘that is your job’. It is not our job, it is your job to be a responsible pet owner. This is the main message we tell children when we give talks at school. Children will listen and go home and tell their parents,” she said.
She said fundraising for the shelter is continuous as feeding the around 100 animals, full-time staff salaries, and medical bills costs around RM30,000 a month.
On the recent rabies outbreak, Drury-Wee thanked the government for holding mass vaccinations of dog and cat populations.
“The challenge is to keep the balance going for the next two to three years as we all work together to make Sarawak rabies free again.”
She called for the authorities to work together with SSPCA towards getting healthy strays vaccinated, neutered and released.
“We must hit 70 per cent. It will not just be for one year but for at least five years continuous. It is an investment the government has to make to fight this disease,” she said.
Drury-Wee added SSPCA will assist the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to hold a house-to-house survey to count animals that have been vaccinated.
“We are also working together with the local government to organise another Humane Dog Capture workshop for all the dog units in the councils because this is where we received most of the complaints from. No use just complaining, we have to educate them on the correct methods.”