Posted on February 2, 2013, Saturday
LIMITED SPACE: Dogs and pups share a cage at SSPCA.
KUCHING: The Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) called on pet owners to stop dumping their pets. “Every
year, in the weeks leading up to each major festival, a few hundred
pets in Kuching are dumped at the SSPCA animal shelter,” the society
said in a press release yesterday. It said animals were also dumped on the streets or the councils called in to collect them for disposal.
Disposal
has often been misunderstood by many to mean the pets will be cared for
until they die of old age, but, in fact, they are being put to sleep.
In short, killed. It said many owners do this simply because they don’t want to pay boarding fees when they leave home for the holidays. They
do not tell their children that their beloved pets will most likely be
disposed of (killed) because there are no way the thousands of animals
surrendered or dumped each year could be re-homed.
“There is no
logical explanation other than personal convenience for the senseless
dumping of pets before the Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Christmas
holidays. “When challenged to explain why they dump their pets,
these heartless owners usually say because the festive season is
coming,” said the animal shelter.
It said one of the greatest
challenges faced by the SSPCA is that it is not respected as an animal
rights group but rather treated as a dumping ground for unwanted pets.
“This
is not what the shelter was set up for. The shelter was meant to be a
temporary home for rescued animals to recover from their injuries or
trauma,” it said. It added that overpopulated animal shelters are
just like overcrowded refugee camps. The more animals of the same
species there are, the higher the chances of infection from various
viruses and bacteria.
“Considering that the animals are brought in
for termination, no background histories are provided during their
handovers and it is impractical to spend over RM100 to run a few basic
tests on each animal when between 150 – 200 are brought in every month.”
With
limited space, manpower and finances, the SSPCA cannot take in and care
for all the abandoned animals in the Kuching, it said.
For more
information about SSPCA work and how the public can help to prevent
animal cruelty, visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SarawakSPCA
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