KUCHING: Sarawak Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) and SOS (Save Our Strays) are working together with the local councils here in tackling the stray dog issue in the city.
According to a press statement, they have taken the initiative to approach the State Agriculture Department director Datu Dr Lai Kui Fong to appeal to him to reactivate the Government Veterinary Clinic at Jalan Sekama and to allow the participation of local private vets at the facility for the purpose of neutering the strays. The discussions are said to be positive and fruitful.
This is to reduce a problem which surfaced during the Capture, Neuter, Vaccinate and Release (CNVR project) of stray dogs. Some of the stray animals brought to private vet clinics were infected with Parvo Virus and canine distemper, which caused a disease outbreak in some of the private clinics, requiring them to close down for a period of time
for sanitisation purposes. Several local vets had to stop taking in strays.
Sometime in the middle of last month, SSPCA and SOS, together with Padawan Municipal Council, Kuching South City Council (MBKS) and the management of GalaCity Development came up with a plan to solve the stray dog issue at the Stampin work site.
The agreed procedure was to use the CNVR methodology introduced by SSPCA and SOS. Members from the two animal welfare groups would help catch the animals, send them to the local private vets to be neutered and vaccinated, and provide post surgery care, then transfer the neutered and vaccinated animals back to the work site. They will also continuously monitor the health of the animals during the post surgery period.
The councillors will assist in the registering and licensing of the neutered animals and GalaCity has agreed to pay for the neutering fees.
SSPCA and SOS will also assist to relocate the neutered animals at the end of the project if the company or workers no longer want the animals.
In the mean time, if the work site requires more neutered and vaccinated dogs, SSPCA can assist to provide these animals from their shelter in Kota Sentosa.
This has resulted in a win-win solution between the residents of the area, the development company and the dogs, not to mention SSPCA, SOS and the local councils.