Human-to-animal transmission? Ipoh council rounds up strays, just in case

Dogs rest in a crowded enclosure at Auntie Ju's shelter for stray dogs on the outskirts of Bangkok on April 6, 2020, where some 1,500 canines rescued from the streets around the Thai capital are being housed. - Donations of food and money have dramatically decreased since the outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, leaving some 1,500 dogs being housed in the shelter with little food to survive on. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP)

IPOH: The Ipoh City Council has started to round up stray dogs near markets and food courts to prevent Covid-19 from spreading to them.

The Ipoh Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) president Ricky Soong on Saturday (April 11) said they were assisting city council in catching the animals, with the operation having commenced on Wednesday (April 8).

He said city council was being proactive because they were not sure whether the virus could be transmitted from animals to humans.

"We are aware that some animals, including a tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York, have contracted the virus.

"While there have been no studies to show that the virus could be transmitted from animals to humans, the city council is being cautious," he said.

"What if an expert suddenly say it could happen? People would get anxious.

"City council might have to put down the animals, not just catch them," said Soong.

He added that dogs that had been neutered, tagged and given collar would also be rounded up.

"If the volunteers are able to care for these dogs, then the animals will be sent to them and be placed on their premises.

"If the volunteers already have about seven dogs under their care, ISPCA will take them back to our shelter," he said, adding that about 30 dogs, including three with the collars, had already been caught.

"The dogs will be released once the movement control order (MCO) is lifted.

"Those without collars will be placed near the landfill in Papan," he added.

Soong said operations had been carried out in Jelapang, Buntong and Menglembu.

"There are currently no plans to catch those near industrial and housing areas yet," he said.