Enforce laws on pets to prevent diseases – activist
KOTA KINABALU: The solution to ending zoonotic diseases lies in effectively enforcing existing laws and not by killing disease-ridden animals, said animal activist Sam Lau.
Many want to take the easy way out by ‘eliminating' the problem, he said, but the real problem is poor law enforcement.
“Our laws are some of the strictest and we have really good guidelines. It's such a shame that those guidelines are not abided by and laws not enforced.
“If the law had been enforced from the beginning, we wouldn't be facing the problem of animal-borne viruses,” he said, referring to the rabies outbreak in Sarawak.
Sam said many complain of the law being outdated hence irrelevant, but contested that they should be updated instead of overlooked.
“Directors of relevant departments should read up on the law. If they feel the law is no longer relevant, it should be amended.
“Assemblymen are chosen to serve the people. If they find that certain laws are not applicable any more, they should make a motion at the State Assembly to update them.”
Sam expressed concern over the welfare of animals in light of a decision made by the Beaufort District Council to kill all stray animals, following the attack of a stray dog on a five-year-old.
Instead of killing strays, he said the animals should be captured and rounded up in a pound before further action was taken.
He also suggested that microchips be implanted in all pets so that owners can keep track of them, while controlling the increasing number of stray animals as well.
Calling on local authorities to take action on the matter, Sam added that stray animals have become a problem because it is not viewed as a serious enough issue.
When faced with a zoonotic disease outbreak, authorities often resort to killing ‘sick' animals instead of following guidelines which require animals to be vaccinated and checked yearly, which could have prevented an outbreak in the first place.
“Killing the animals doesn't solve the problem. Guidelines clearly state that animals must be vaccinated every year and taken for check-ups.
“Pet owners must also be responsible and neuter their pets to control the population, which could solve the issue of stray animals.
“If this has been practised since the beginning, we wouldn't be facing the problem of strays attacking people and disease outbreaks wouldn't have claimed lives.
“We shouldn't have to wait for something like that to happen before deciding to take action,” said Sam.