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Showing posts with label Stop Animal Cruelty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stop Animal Cruelty. Show all posts

Saturday, September 19, 2015

RABIES - VACCINATION IS THE ONLY WAY

It is very sad to see that there are a large number of people that are unaware of the concerted efforts that have been taken by animal welfare organisations as well as individuals to trap, vaccinate, spay and neuter, and rehome (as far as possible) or otherwise release these dogs to areas with designated feeders and carers.

Most of us use our own resources for this with no funding from the authorities because the authorities do not want to invest in long term, sustainable solutions to the stray management issue. Because if they did, then there would be no more strays for them to catch, and therefore there would be no more dog catching contractors and therefore no more money to be made.

Please bear in mind that the councils all over the country have been catching and killing dogs barbarically for years, and yet the stray population is rampant. I shall not go into the details of why it doesn't work in this thread but clearly this shows that catching and killing does not work to reduce the stray population at all.

This culling spree will do nothing to eradicate rabies. Mission rabies have been actively vaccinating dogs across the world to stop the spread of the disease.

There is alot of information on this on the Mission Rabies website, among many other websites, on how to stop rabies spreading.

Mission Rabies (http://www.missionrabies.com/) collaborates with many rescues centres, shelters and animal welfare organisations across the world, one of which is The Mayhew Animal Home in the UK, where I used to volunteer for 2 years previously. And during my time there, I have learnt many things, and one of which is disease control and stray population control, where it was very clear that mass cullings or even systematic culling will not resolve these issues.

"Killing dogs has been scientifically proven to have no effect on rabies transmission or overall population, since new dogs quickly move into the area where killing has taken place to take advantage of the increased food resources and territory. This mixing of new dogs may even increase the risk of rabies due to fighting over territory and mates.

By vaccinating at least 70% of a stable population of dogs in the local area, they act as a barrier to disease transmission and stop rabies in its tracks, this protecting the people in that area from the disease. A healthy, vaccinated street dog population is the best protection for people from rabies." - Mission Rabies

Additionally, instead of spreading fear, people should be made aware of two very important facts (source WHO - http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs099/en/), so that they are aware of what to do should they get bitten by a rabid animal.

1. Immediate wound cleansing with soap and water after contact with a suspect rabid animal can be life-saving.
2. Every year, more than 15 million people worldwide receive a post-bite vaccination to prevent the disease; this is estimated to prevent hundreds of thousands of rabies deaths annually.

Friday, September 18, 2015

RABIES, MASS VACCINATION TO ERADICATE DISEASE, NOT MASS CULLING

Edited: This is the version which I have emailed to CM Lim Guan Eng​

Perhaps if each one of us could write him an email as well as post on his Facebook page, we can make a difference.

Email address: limguaneng@penang.gov.my
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cmlimguaneng?fref=ts
Facebook page of MBPP: https://www.facebook.com/Majlis-Bandaraya-Pulau-Pinang-MBPP-824716250937723/timeline/

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Dear Mr Lim Guan Eng,

I understand that you are concerned about the spread of rabies in Penang, but I do hope that you will re-consider your call to destroy all stray dogs as this method has been proven time and again to be ineffective in curbing the spread of disease as you will not be able to catch all dogs that could be carrying the disease.

I would also like to ask if it has been confirmed that the rabies cases reported were in fact due to dog bites? Rabies is spread by many other animals including dogs and cats, and in particular wildlife such as bats.

Having worked for the The Mayhew Animal Home in the UK for 2 years and having been heavily involved in animal welfare and rescue work in Malaysia for many years, I am can assure you that mass culling of animals usually does little if not nothing to control to spread of the diseases.

In fact International Organisations such as WHO have promoted mass vaccinations of dogs when dealing with rabies outbreaks.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs099/en/

This method has proven to be more successful than culling and at the same time will provide long term immunity which will help eradicate the disease in the long run.

Additionally, I am not sure if you are aware but the dog catchers that have been employed by all councils in Malaysia use very cruel and inhumane methods to catch and kill the strays.

I sincerely hope that you will consider a more humane and sustainable method to curb the spread of this disease rather than ordering the mass culling of strays.

Regards,

Natasha Fernz
Animal Welfare Advocate

Saturday, August 29, 2015

DENVER THE PUPPY

24/08/15 Nicole Lee Suresh spotted this little mite running round our housing area a few days ago. But when she approached him, he would run like the wind. I went looking for him on Friday night, and when I found him, he ran away too. He would run as soon as we got near him. We tried luring him with food but he was not interested. We gave up after a few hours and called it a night.

The next day, a neighbour told me that he saw the puppy and he tried to give him some food but the little fella ran away. We tried looking for him but didn't see him... 


 And then on Monday morning, when I was out walking my kids, he came out of nowhere and started trailing us. He was abit scared of my male dogs and also my beagle (who is quite feisty), so I quickly got my helper, to take the three of them in, while I kept Cleo with me.

He immediately came running up to Cleo and followed us home. He was very suspicious of humans though, and kept running out before I could close the gate. I had to keep going outside with Cleo to bring him back in and finally after about an hour, we got him inside.

But then came the tough part... He was really fearful of humans and was actually quite snappy and tried to bite us a few times. If it wasn't for my Cleo, I would never have been able to get him in the crate. What we did was put some food in the crate and tried to lure him into it, but he refused to go in.

We had to then get Cleo to stand by the side of the crate by herself before he would go in. After another hour, we finally managed to get him into the crate. 


We took him to the vet, and had a long wait as there was alot of people waiting to see him. Denver was very snappy and unco-operative. My poor old vet, had to sit on the floor for half an hour coaxing him to calm down. We couldn't do much, but at least we managed to get a good look at his wounds and skin condition. Our vet prescribed antibiotics and anti-fungal and told us to let him calm down for a few days before bringing him back again, as the poor mite was very stressed.

We brought him home and tried to settle him in. But unfortunately he did not like being in a cage and was making alot of noise. We couldn't let him free with our other dogs because of his skin condition and also we do not know if he has any other issues that might be contagious, and in the end we decided that we had to board him where he can recover a little before deciding what to do with him.

Hopefully, he will get better, and he will start to trust humans soon. We will be putting him up for adoption once he has recovered. Alternatively, if you think you could adopt him now and give him the home that he deserves, we would be really happy. He would do really well in a home with a calm, older dog. All he needs is to be shown some love and kindness and he will be a beautiful dog...

Saturday, January 31, 2015

TARA THE RESCUED SHIH TZU


31/01/15 UPDATE: No one has claimed Tara to-date... So we really think that she must have been abandoned. We are considering putting her up for adoption, but her adopter will have to be quite experienced with dealing with Shih Tzus due to the condition of her eye. It has improved a lot but it will be a lifelong condition where she will require eye drops and eye ointments.


However, she is also quite snappy therefore her adopter must also be very patient and kind when dealing with her. 


She gets along well with older dogs and also cats. One of our rescued cats Snowie loves her alot and watches over her all the time. So if you have a calm cat, she will also do well with you...

Please SMS or WhatsApp 016 322 8816 if you can give Tara a good home.
 

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19/10/14 UPDATE: We have decided to name this little girl Tara... Her ear infection has cleared up completely, and her eye infection is much much better now.

No one has claimed her to-date, and so she is up for adoption. However, she will only be released to her new family once her eyes have cleared up a bit more. Please note that she is a bit older (about 6/7 years old) and so will need extra care. She will also need an experienced handler as she does not like her eyes and ears cleaned and is quite snappy. But otherwise she's a really easy dog. She loves to eat and sleeps alot...

Please SMS or WhatsApp 016 322 8816 if you would like to give her a good home. Serious adopters only, breeders NEED NOT apply. She will also be spayed before she is released to her new home.
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 27/09/14 UPDATE: Just back from the vet. Kiddo's eye is badly infected and there seems to be some trauma to the cornea. Ears are also full of gunk and my vet managed to clean it all out although the kiddo was quite snappy. Have got 2 different eye ointments, ear ointment and antibiotics. Dewormed as well...
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26/09/14 I'm at my wits end. Thought I would have the weekend to work and run errands. But that was not to be. My helper Charis Stanton heard a dog barking outside my house. 

So of course we went to look and found this kiddo in the 6 foot deep drain right outside my house. It's in terrible condition. Don't know if it's lost or dumped. I hope it is the former...
Have just given the kiddo a quick bath, cleaned its eye as best as I could and fed it. Will be taking it to the vet tomorrow morning.





If this is your dog, please SMS or Whatsapp me at 016 322 8816. If not please share so that we can reunite this little one with its family....

Saturday, January 17, 2015

OREO NEEDS A FOREVER HOME

12 JAN 2015: We rescued this sweetie in February last year (2014) and he was slightly injured then. But the good news was that we found his family a week later. We returned him to his family who seemed very happy to have him back and we thought that that was the end of the story.

Last week, my helper Charis Stanton saw him at our house with the rest of our strays. She fed him and didn't think much of it as she actually did not recognize him immediately as he has lost so much weight and looked really poorly. 


He came again this weekend and it was only then that I realized it was Oreo. He had a huge maggot wound in his neck and several other wounds, he was covered with fleas and he was limping badly. 




We managed to catch him the next day, gave him a good bath and treated him with Bayticol as there was just so many fleas it was unbelievable.

And then with advice from Mun Mun IMonday we flushed his maggot wound with hydrogen peroxide. Hundreds of maggots came out and it was just absolutely disgusting. As we couldn't stomache taking the maggots out ourselves, so we took him to the vet, and she removed alot more. 


Our vet told us that the wound was at least 10 days to 2 weeks old, which means that he has been left untreated all this time. The fact that this time he has no collar makes us suspect that he has now been thrown out.

He is currently boarding at the vet as we think that he has alot of underlying issues as well. We will be treating him and we hope that he will have a speedy recovery.


 Once he is all better, we would like to put him up for adoption to a good home where he will be love and cared for. In hindsight, It is quite clear that his family does not care about him. Because when we sent him back to them last year, and told him that he was injured etc they weren't too keen about listening to what we had to say. And we also told them that we had boarded him for a week and taken him to the vet several times, and they didn't offer to pay us back for anything. But at the time, we just left it as we were just happy that we found his family. Mind you they lived in a big corner house and had about 5 big cars in their porch!

He is a very sweet natured dog and did not show any aggression to us or the vet when we were cleaning his wounds. He just lay down very quietly. He seemed like a broken dog with no spirit left. We hope that we can change this and show him there are people who will care about him and show him lots of love and affection. 

If you think you can give Oreo a good home, please SMS or WhatsApp 016 322 8816. If you cannot, please share this with your friends. Someone you know may be able to give him the home that he deserves.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

STOP BARBARIC DOG CATCHING METHODS

MIAR has highlighted yet another terrible case of animal abuse and torture. This has been going on for far too long. All of us need to stand up and make a difference. Speak for the voiceless...

Sign the petition started by MIAR here: Stop Babaric Dog Catching

 

Strays dogs and cats have always been an issue in the country for as long as I can remember. And while I firmly believe that there is a need to control the stray population (via humane methods), our local authorities seem to have no qualms in employing the most cruel methods of "controlling" the stray population. These methods involve catching the stray animals and killing them in the most barbaric way possible without even flinching.
We have seen countless cases of cruelty inflicted on these helpless animals by the local councils, and yet no action is ever taken against these people. In fact the authorities seem to condone beating, strangling and starving these poor animals on the pretext that these poor dogs would bite someone and that they are just doing their job.  
Anyone will tell you that the likelihood of a stray dog biting a person is much lower than being mugged or attacked by a human. Dogs will usually only attack if they are provoked, cornered and have no choice.
At the same time, the very fact that the government and the local authorities are turning a blind eye and even encouraging these acts of cruelty by the barbaric people that they employ, goes to show that they have little understanding of the correlation between cruelty to animals and humans. Many studies have shown that those that torture animals usually go on to torturing humans. Is this the kind of society that we would like to cultivate?

Additionally, we have laws against animal cruelty (albeit a rather pathetic one), and I would like to know why are these people not subject to the same laws. Why are they not charged and brought to justice? Why ARE THEY ABOVE THE LAW?
If the increase in stray population is really a concern, the authorities should work together with the many established animal welfare organisations to promote spaying and neutering of pets, as well as strays. These methods have been proven to be more effective at controlling and reducing the stray animal population in the long run.
The government is constantly trying to promote the country as one that is a warm, friendly and caring nation. But by condoning and even encouraging these acts of cruelty towards these defenceless animals, I think that the government has failed the country and its people.

Sign the petition started by MIAR here: Stop Babaric Dog Catching

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

ADOPTER NEEDED FOR ABANDONED GERMAN SHEPHERD

07/06/13 UPDATE: ROMEO HAS BEEN ADOPTED
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We have just been contacted by Shida in Taman Putra Sulaiman, Ampang (opposite Ampang Point) about this gorgeous boy.

He is a German Shepherd cross, and apparently his owner abandoned him when they moved out about 3 months ago.

She has been feeding him together with another neighbour, but as they are in predominantly Muslim/Malay area, they are having alot of problems. The other neighbours have already called MPAJ a couple of times, but thankfully they have failed to catch him...

We need someone to adopt/rescue this sweet dog before it's too late.

If you can help, please contact Shida immediately at 
012 620 0696

PetFinder profile

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

LUCAS AND LEA FOR ADOPTION

UPDATE: Lucas & Lea have been adopted
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Lucas and Lea are looking for their forever homes. They were rescued from a horrible situation - they were spotted tied to a tree on very short chains for over a week. Lucas could not even lie down. They had no shelter or food and were severely malnourished.

They are now being cared for by a foster carer and are ready to go to their new homes. They have already been vaccinated and neutered; and have tested negative for heartworms.


Please contact us at animalwelfaremalaysia@gmail.com if you would like to adopt Lucas & Lea 

Terms and conditions for adoption:
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1. Adoption fee of RM500 for both of them (i.e. RM250 each). This is to defray the costs of deworming, vaccination, neutering and other medical costs which far exceeds RM500.
2. An interview and a home visit will be conducted before Lucas & Lea are released to their new home.
3. They should not be caged or chained for long periods of time.
4. They must be provided with sufficient food, water, exercise, medical care (if necessary) and clean shelter from the heat and rain.
5. They MUST be adopted together.


Lea is a sweet girl and is approximately 1.5-2 years old.

Lucas is a boy and is approximately 2-2.5 years old