150,000 Sarawak pet dogs given anti-rabies jab
Published on: Tuesday, October 29, 2019
By: Bernama
File photo: Bernama.
KUCHING: The government has to date provided anti-rabies vaccination for free to 150,000 or 65pc of the estimated number of pet dogs in Sarawak, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.He said the owners must ensure that the dogs receive a booster vaccination every 12 months.
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“For every injection, the cost (borne by the Sarawak government) is RM2. We will continue to provide free vaccination every year until Sarawak is declared rabies-free, ” he said.
Apart from dogs, Uggah said over 10,000 cats have also been vaccinated after about 100 cases of rabies were confirmed to have been spread by the animal.
Uggah said the Sarawak government was also in the final phase of making house-to-house calls to ensure that pet dogs were given rabies vaccination and stray dogs were eliminated with the help of the army and the police.
Uggah said the special operation has been implemented in the state since March 1 and so far the government has spent RM9mil, adding that the programme has the support of the Federal Government.
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Following this, the rabies vaccination and programme to eliminate stray dogs will be focused at the border areas to prevent the spread of the disease to Brunei and Sabah.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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“Sabah will be sending over some veterinary officers while Brunei will share information to ensure that our borders are protected, ” he said.Uggah also said that Sarawak aimed to be rabies-free by 2025 and hoped to eliminate human deaths due to rabies by 2021. — Bernama
