KUCHING: The Residents in various divisions together with relevant agencies will be conducting roadblocks from time to time to deter the movement of animals as part of the measures to strengthen rabies control and eradication programme, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
The roadblocks will be conducted from 6 October 2018 and it is deemed an offence under the Veterinary Public Health Ordinance, 1999 to move dogs from a rabies-infected area to other areas in the State.
“The penalty for this offence is a fine of RM5,000 or jail sentence of three months, or both fine and imprisonment.
“Under this Ordinance it is also an offence to abandon dogs under the provision of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,” said Uggah in a press conference after a meeting with the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee at Wisma Bapa Malaysia in Petra Jaya here yesterday.
He added that the control on stray dogs population will be intensified and reminded all pet owners to keep their pets within their compounds.
“I have issued the Anti-Rabies Vaccination Order and I have also directed the Department of Veterinary Services to intensify their vaccination programmes to cover also the rural areas in the state.
“If necessary we will outsource vaccinators in order to achieve the 70 per cent or above vaccination coverage in order to provide herd immunity as well as to prevent enzootic transmission of rabies to human.
“As of today, we have vaccinated more than 85,000 dogs throughout Sarawak,” he revealed.
Uggah also disclosed that a bilateral meeting will be held between National Security Council and the Indonesian Security Authority to discuss cooperation for more effective control of dog movements between Sarawak and Kalimantan, Indonesia and including removal of strays in the immune belt.
“The SOP (Standard Operation Procedure) to carry out Rabies Control Measures by the Army and General Operation Force at the Sarawak Kalimantan border has been approved.
“The local authorities are directed to enforce their by-laws including licensing of dogs as well as to advise pet owners to keep their dogs indoors,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, the Health Department has set up their Dog Bite Clinic in Sibu, Kapit and Miri Hospital.
“The State Government is proposing new Dog By-Law 2018 with new regulatory measures for pet management.
“Our control measures have been effective in Serian Division and will be used as a model for other divisions. There were good community engagement through our awareness campaigns, adequate vaccination coverage and effective stray dog population control.
“This has led to a reduction of bite cases and no human rabies cases occurred in that area,” he affirmed.
Members of the public are encouraged to visit the Sarawak Disaster Information Facebook Page for the updated information on mass vaccination, latest news on rabies and educational materials. They may contact the WhatsApp hotline number for rabies, 016-2051111 in regards to suggestions, comments or questions about rabies.
Meanwhile, a total of 15,152 officers and logistics personnel have been urged to be on standby for the Northeastern Monsoon which will occur in November 2018 until March 2019.
“During the monsoon, there will be non-stop rain for three days that will cause flash floods in low areas and areas that tend to flood
“If heavy rain occur simultaneously with high tides, it will be worse as high tides can reach 6.5 metres,” said Uggah.
He added that according to weather forecasts, Bintulu and Miri will receive a total of rain from 300 mm until 500 mm in November and December, while Kuching, Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman, Sarikei, Mukah and Sibu will receive between 400 mm and 550 mm of rain in December and January.
“In part, Kuching and Samarahan will expect to gain the highest amount of rain between 600 mm and 700 mm.
“Our committee has prepared to face this Northeastern Monsoon with our strength of officers, logistics and evacuation centres,” he said.
A total of 610 evacuation centres have been prepared for the upcoming monsoon and the Community Welfare Department had also prepared 16 forward supply based whereby two in Kuching, four in Kapit, three in Bintulu and seven in Miri.
“All residents are directed to be ready and the Flood Operation Room in all division will be activated anytime,” Uggah reminded.
