SIBU: Dog owners here gave a lukewarm response to the anti-rabies vaccination drive.
For example, last Thursday morning, only one dog owner came to register his dog at Grand Heights for the tag which would entitle the pet for free vaccination.
Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting later voiced his displeasure when told of the poor response.
During his visit to the campaign at Grand Heights, he was not too pleased with the low turnout by dog owners.
The ongoing vaccination drive is jointly organised by the council and Sibu Veterinary Department.
“I visited the SMC and Veterinary Department vaccination drive at Grand Heights, but at the registration for dog tags, as at 10:30am, there was only one registration,” he said.
Ting was told by registration staff that the poor response was because dog owners felt that it was not necessary to register their pets for the tag as they are kept at home.
Disappointed by the lackadaisical attitude of animal owners, Ting vowed to push for compulsory registration.
“The response is disappointing. I am going to push for compulsory registration. This attitude should not be allowed to persist in our community,” he said.
Nine more vaccination drives will take place from July 23 to September 18 at Permai Lake Gardens; July 28 and 29 (Civic Centre); August 5-6 (Sungai Merah Heritage Walk); August 12-13 (Uni-city car park); August 18 -19 (Hin Hua Memorial Park); August 26-27 (SMC library car park); September 2-3(Swan Square car park); September 9-10 (Kpg Bahagia fair price mini market) and lastly on September 17-18 at Taman Satria shoplot car park.
The first rabies case this year was a five-year old girl who died in Sibu on March 26. On June 23, a 62-year old man died at Sibu Hospital from the same disease. He was bitten on his right calf by a dog belonging to his brother on May 12 in Kampung Sentosa.
The Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak (DVSS) had on June 13 announced 10 areas as rabies-infected. The areas were Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Lorong Permai Timur, Kampung Bahagia Jaya Teku, Sibujaya, Mile 1/2 Jalan Oya, Jalan Hua Khiew, Ulu Sungai Merah, Taman Sanhill Barat, Jalan Oya Lama and Jalan Sentosa.
