Join hands (and paws) to put an end to rabies
Anthony SB Thanasayan
Anthony SB Thanasayan is a wheelchair user who is powered by his
service dogs who help him stay on top of life. He is president of
Malaysia's first and only animal-assisted therapy society called
Petpositive.
Published: 28 September 2015
Today, September 28, is World Rabies Day.
Until
more than a week ago – when news of a rabies outbreak in the states of
Perak, Kedah and Penang had suddenly erupted and gripped the nation - I
didn't even know that such an international event existed.
And I'm sure that by now you have heard it all.
The war of views between the veterinary and health experts and animal
welfare groups. There is no need to bore you and repeat it here.
However, I did jot down several points of interest which I thought was
worthwhile for some of us to think about. They are listed in no
particular order:
Get the facts! I discovered that being emotional never helped at all.
Of course, it was terribly upsetting to realise that all strays in the
affected states would need to be killed in order to try and stamp out
rabies before it took root and turned into an epidemic within three
weeks.
The reason to include so-called "healthy" strays in the target list was
because it was virtually impossible to say which dogs are affected and
which aren't. And with no sufficient rabies vaccines available for now,
there was really no time to lose.
Culling is critical: Despite all the criticism over
culling, I realised that sometimes it was a necessary evil – especially
in the beginning stages.
In fact, the WHO in Geneva supports it - along with the World
Organisation for Animal Health or OIE in France. They both apparently
already possess a working relationship with our Department of Veterinary
Services (DVS) in Putrajaya for some time now.
However, it must be pointed out that the culling they are speaking
about is "humane culling". This specifically means by way of euthanasia.
The culling methods these organisations condemn are poisoning dogs,
electrocuting and bludgeoning them to death. These have been employed by
several countries including China in the wake of rabies.
The way I see it, we are very lucky here because with an army of more
than 200 veterinarians deployed to the northern region, the strays are
all being put to sleep in a humane way. And that, I think, is the best
thing that any animal lover the world over can be thankful for in a
situation where there is no other pathway than to take this horrible
road to hell situation.
Vaccination a must: The WHO and the OIE do, however,
insist a vaccination programme must follow with humane culling. And I'm
glad that the DVS has clarified that these exercises are already being
done with owners' dogs as they await more vaccines.
The bottom line with all this is, I am happy and confident with how the
DVS and the three affected local governments have been handling the
matter under their supervision.
Rabies a game-changer for all: It can't be denied that
the return of rabies since we were free of it from 1999 has affected us
all. Local councils should get more serious by setting up a regular
committee to meet at least monthly to tackle stray management problems.
They should invite animal welfare organisations to assist them with
ideas and hold dog awareness programmes like talks, events and
activities with residents to inculcate responsible pet ownership. Local
councils should also work closely with the DVS, which they rarely do –
except for when a crisis occurs.
Animal welfare groups should get out of their high chair and build a
working and lasting relationship with local councils. They should stop
criticising them all the time and establish common grounds where they
can work with them in order to help improve the quality of lives of all
animals under their jurisdiction.
Feeders of strays should now rethink their practice in focusing how
their efforts will not create vulnerability among the strays they want
to help. Perhaps now they can better appreciate the reason why local
councils have always warned them about feeding strays instead of having
them rehomed.
Animal lovers are also likely to understand the role of dogcatchers now
– and why they catch strays off the streets, risking their own lives as
they do it.
Animal lovers and groups need to also look beyond themselves and their
dogs to understand the rights of other citizens who wish to walk in a
park without being attacked by strays, stop blaming children when strays
bite them and pay attention to all the local council laws when keeping a
dog or cat.
One of the ugliest things that I witnessed in this episode was how
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was cursed for ordering the culling
of stray dogs in Penang.
Not only did these so-called "dog lovers" post nasty things about him
in his Facebook page, but some even wished that he and his family would
die for the "karma" he is responsible for in culling strays.
Now that hurts.
Not just because of the words themselves but for the fact that there
were supposedly "dog loving people". Dogs by nature are known to be all
forgiving and loving.
I recall many years ago when I was at a meeting attended by some VIPs.
Because I had no means of transport (a friend dropped me off) I went
around the room asking virtually everyone for a lift back to my home.
They all turned me down except for one guy who said, "Yes."
He helped carry me into his car first and then my wheelchair into his car boot.
I taught him how to fold my wheelchair. I showed him which parts of it came off and where to place my cushion.
Little did I realise then that the kind and caring gentleman who helped
me that day would not only one day turn out to be a chief minister of
Penang but that he would also be the one fighting very hard today in the
state to keep all humans and dogs safe in the wake of this dreaded and
deadly disease.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/anthony-sb-thanasayan/article/join-hands-and-paws-to-put-an-end-to-rabiesHe needs all our support at this time to help us put an end to rabies threat in Malaysia. – September 28, 2015.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and
does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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