by Georgette Tan, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on March 13, 2012, Tuesday
KUCHING: The new Sarawak Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) shelter will be environmentally-friendly, said president Dona Drury Wee. “It will be a ‘green’ shelter,” she told The Borneo Post, after a press conference announcing their upcoming event, World Animal Groove (WAG) Festival.
SSPCA hopes to raise funds for their new shelter, which is expected to cost around RM1.5 million to construct. Currently, the shelter is at 6 1/2 Mile. The committee is expecting to meet with Land and Survey Department representatives this month and view the potential site.
According to Wee, the site cannot be near a housing estate and still be accessible from the city. “We plan on keeping the capacity at 300 animals maximum at the new site,” she said, adding that this 2011 figure grew from 2010’s capacity of 270 animals.
“What we want is a proper exercise area for the dogs, and to build more staff quarters and accommodations for visiting veterinarians.” The shelter uses around RM27,000 in costs every month, including staff wages, food and medication for the animals, and for neutering.
The adoption rate is only 25 per cent, with only one adoption for every four animals brought in. SSPCA is going to focus on getting more enforcement for animal abuse cases this year and will be meeting with the three councils, police and State Veterinary Division. “SSPCA has no authority to take any action against offenders.
“If there continues to be no enforcement, people are going to think they can get away with abusing their pets,” said Wee.
Part of the difficulty is that abuse is sometimes hard to prove. “You talk to the neighbours and they don’t want to be the one to ‘rat’ on the abuser,” she said.
