Today I hugged my dogs. I hugged them wishing I could hug and comfort every single stray dog in Penang that are now on death row. Hundreds to thousands of innocent lives to be snuffed out, all because of 2, only 2, cases of rabies, suspected to have been spread from Thailand since Malaysia has been rabies frees for decades.
The decision to cull was certainly made of fear. Yes, rabies kills people and does so in an unpleasant manner. Unfortunately it was also made out of ignorance and the sad mentality that the lives of 'lesser animals' are not worth sacrificing our convenience for. Rabies has existed in Thailand, Indonesia and our neighboring SE countries all this time. Bali, in particular, has a high rate of death cases due to rabies, 12 people this year alone. That is, however, nothing compared to the 30,033 cases of dengue, including 95 deaths, reported in Malaysia just between January to March 2015 alone. And you don't see Malaysians freaking out and running to hospitals when they get bitten by a mosquito. The risk of getting bitten by a rabid dog, especially since the number of cases are small, is infinitely less.
Dr. Francois Meslin of the WHO said, “Dog culling has never had a significant impact on rabies reduction or dog population density anywhere in the world. Only vaccination of at least 70% of the dogs will eradicate rabies.” World Health Organization studies show that if 70% of dogs are vaccinated against rabies, the epidemic will quickly die out. Hence, Bali has moved from culling dogs in Bali to mass vaccinations, with vaccines donated by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). Even in the India which we mostly deem as less developed than Malaysia, the Mission Rabies organization successfully vaccinated 60,000 dogs in 10 Indian cities in 30 days.
Dear, Lim Guan Eng, please do some research and consider the facts before continuing your simplistic, rash and heartless decision to end hundreds to thousands of innocent lives because of TWO cases. Work together with animals welfare NGOs, ask for assistance from the WHO and the WSPA to get vaccinations, and focus energy on vaccinating rather than culling, especially since culling has been proven by the WHO to be INEFFECTIVE in eradicating rabies. Donations will come from Malaysians all over the country to support a vaccination program, and since you have the people deployed to kill, those same people can be deployed to vaccinate the strays. In the meantime, Penangites should be educated to avoid contact with strays, to keep their pets away from strays and to be able to identify symptoms of a rabid dog and report it when seen.
Fellow dog lovers, don't leave it to the government. Be responsible pet owners. Vaccinate your pets to protect from diseases, and spay them to prevent the needless breeding of dogs, creating more strays that suffer in the streets, sometimes being abused by cruel people, and now being rounded up to die.
I don't pull my facts out of thin air. My sources are below:
1) What You Need To Know About The Rabies Epidemic In Bali
2) World Animal Protection - Controlling Rabies
3) Mission Rabies vaccinates 60,000 dogs in 10 Indian cities in 30 days
4) Dengue Situation Update 461, 24 March 2015
3 of my dogs that were strays before I adopted them. Adopted stray dogs make wonderful and loyal pets, as they appreciate the better life compared to the one on the streets. They are intelligent, have unique personalities like children, and love me as much I love them. I believe most stray dogs are equally intelligent and loving to people, if they had the chance to prove it. Don't take away their that chance over a risk that can be controlled.
The decision to cull was certainly made of fear. Yes, rabies kills people and does so in an unpleasant manner. Unfortunately it was also made out of ignorance and the sad mentality that the lives of 'lesser animals' are not worth sacrificing our convenience for. Rabies has existed in Thailand, Indonesia and our neighboring SE countries all this time. Bali, in particular, has a high rate of death cases due to rabies, 12 people this year alone. That is, however, nothing compared to the 30,033 cases of dengue, including 95 deaths, reported in Malaysia just between January to March 2015 alone. And you don't see Malaysians freaking out and running to hospitals when they get bitten by a mosquito. The risk of getting bitten by a rabid dog, especially since the number of cases are small, is infinitely less.
Dr. Francois Meslin of the WHO said, “Dog culling has never had a significant impact on rabies reduction or dog population density anywhere in the world. Only vaccination of at least 70% of the dogs will eradicate rabies.” World Health Organization studies show that if 70% of dogs are vaccinated against rabies, the epidemic will quickly die out. Hence, Bali has moved from culling dogs in Bali to mass vaccinations, with vaccines donated by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). Even in the India which we mostly deem as less developed than Malaysia, the Mission Rabies organization successfully vaccinated 60,000 dogs in 10 Indian cities in 30 days.
Dear, Lim Guan Eng, please do some research and consider the facts before continuing your simplistic, rash and heartless decision to end hundreds to thousands of innocent lives because of TWO cases. Work together with animals welfare NGOs, ask for assistance from the WHO and the WSPA to get vaccinations, and focus energy on vaccinating rather than culling, especially since culling has been proven by the WHO to be INEFFECTIVE in eradicating rabies. Donations will come from Malaysians all over the country to support a vaccination program, and since you have the people deployed to kill, those same people can be deployed to vaccinate the strays. In the meantime, Penangites should be educated to avoid contact with strays, to keep their pets away from strays and to be able to identify symptoms of a rabid dog and report it when seen.
Fellow dog lovers, don't leave it to the government. Be responsible pet owners. Vaccinate your pets to protect from diseases, and spay them to prevent the needless breeding of dogs, creating more strays that suffer in the streets, sometimes being abused by cruel people, and now being rounded up to die.
I don't pull my facts out of thin air. My sources are below:
1) What You Need To Know About The Rabies Epidemic In Bali
2) World Animal Protection - Controlling Rabies
3) Mission Rabies vaccinates 60,000 dogs in 10 Indian cities in 30 days
4) Dengue Situation Update 461, 24 March 2015
3 of my dogs that were strays before I adopted them. Adopted stray dogs make wonderful and loyal pets, as they appreciate the better life compared to the one on the streets. They are intelligent, have unique personalities like children, and love me as much I love them. I believe most stray dogs are equally intelligent and loving to people, if they had the chance to prove it. Don't take away their that chance over a risk that can be controlled.
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