SIBU: Volunteers of a spaying and neutering project for cats and dogs are appealing for public support to ensure the continuation of the project.
The five-year project is from 2018-2022. It started when former college lecturer Wong Siew Tung, vet Shaw Yu Tay and a few friends got together to initiate the cause.
At a press conference here yesterday, Wong and Shaw said they were considering stopping the project next year due to lack of funds.
Wong explained that they received no aid or any form of funding from the government.
“All our funds are from public donation.”
“Our funds are dwindling. By June next year, we may have to stop this project. It will be a great loss not only to us but also pet owners in the communities that we serve,” he added.
He said each month their expenses were about RM2,000 and annually, they spent roughly over RM10,000 ― depending on the number of animals registered.
Currently, he said, they had either spayed or neutered 148 stray cats and dogs in the town at a cost of RM44,200.
Another RM5,000 was spent on the duo’s expenses for taking care of strays.
In order to cut cost, they decided to subsidise only one of them (RM200) until June next year while they would only accept a maximum of 15 strays a month from now on.
Wong said according to an unofficial report, rabies in Sarawak are under control since the state government, the veterinarian department and the police took action to cull thousands of cats and dogs in residential areas in Kuching, Sibu, Kapit and Sarikei, among others.
“But when you examine the actual situation closely in Sibu, for example, there are still many strays around market places, schools and residential areas. This does not give a real picture that rabies is under control,” he said.
He pointed out that strays were still running around, posing a danger to the public.
Wong and Shaw can be contacted at 016-894 1326 and 016-868 7671 respectively.
