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518 animal bite cases but zero rabies

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Lo Khere Chiang . Photo: Mohd Alif Noni

KUCHING: A total of 518 animal bite cases have been recorded in Padawan Municipal Council (MPP)’s area as of April 25 this year but with zero rabies cases.

MPP chairman Lo Khere Chiang noted that of these, 518 bite cases, 286 or about 55 percent were bites from pet dogs.

“That is the reason why all pets should be vaccinated and prevented from roaming freely with stray dogs so that we can prevent rabies infection,” he said during a press conference via Zoom after MPP’s full council meeting today.

He pointed out that feeding strays aggravated the issue.

“Pet owners are advised to neuter and vaccinate their dogs, and not to feed stray dogs,” he said.

He said even though everyone is primarily concerned about Covid-19 at this time, rabies should not be forgotten as it is still around.

“As long as a rabies outbreak is declared, dogs that have been captured by the council cannot be taken back by the owner for prevention of dogs having rabies when owners intentionally let vaccinated dogs out and they associate with other stray dogs whose statuses are unknown,” he said.

He said vaccinated dogs should be confined to the home, adding that 290 dogs had been captured by the MPP Dog Control Unit in the first three months of this year.

Lo said he had also received many complaints of dogs causing nuisance to neighbours by barking and making lots of noise.

He said a possible reason is that some dogs are kept locked up for too long, causing them to be frustrated and stressed and therefore resulting in barking.

“I would like to advise and encourage pet owners to take good care of their dogs and understand why they are barking loudly and continuously.

“Don’t let them bark unnecessarily and continuously for hours, which would cause the neighbours to complain,” he urged.

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