More Than 1,000 Stray Dogs Captured And Put Down Following Rabies Outbreak

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the order to vaccinate all dogs to prevent rabies infection, however, stays.

"There is an indication that the prevalence of rabies is low... the situation is under control and I have decided to revoke the order," he said in a press conference in Komtar today.

Besides the culling order, Lim also made compulsory for all dog owners to vaccinate their pet dogs from a possible rabies outbreak.

The Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) also declared Perlis, Kedah and Penang as rabies infected states after wild dogs caught in the states found to be positive for the virus.

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Lim Guan Eng took to social media today to refute the authenticity of several gory photographs showing bloodied dogs that a Twitter user used to link to the controversy in Penang over the culling of strays.

@thecatsrgrowlin had earlier tagged Lim to the collage, which also contained a warning in Chinese that read: “Innocent dogs, you must remember this man!!”, along with a smiling picture of the chief minister.

The Penang chief minister accused Twitter user @thecatsrgrowlin of lying, saying the photographs, nine in total and put together in a collage, were not of dogs in Penang.

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“We have ordered it from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in Paris, France and it will be coming soon,” he said, adding that the vaccines were “quite cheap”.

“We have been carrying only a limited stock of the vaccine to manage vaccination in border states of our neighbouring countries."

“So that is why we don’t carry a lot of vaccine with us. Now, in view of what has happened, we have ordered more.”

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Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today told an international group promising free anti-rabies vaccine to stop the state’s culling of strays to show that the 50,000 doses offered exist.

Lim, who is already under pressure from various animal welfare groups for approving the culling of stray dogs in the state in bid to stamp out rabies, told the NGO to simply deliver the vaccines now.

“If they say they have the vaccines, bring it here, show it to us, don't just talk about it,” he said.

He was responding to a statement by Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS) that offered the vaccines and manpower to assist the state in mass inoculation of dogs in the state.

Lim also told them to bring their experts on rabies and disease control to reveal their proposals to the authorities here.

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The group said WVS would also train local veterinary personnel and volunteers on conducting the programme as well as awareness campaigns to educate the public.

"However, even though they have the vaccines ready and the manpower, they expect that they can only arrive in Penang at the end of the year because of the paperwork and applications that needed to be sorted out beforehand with the federal authorities, especially the Veterinary Services Department (DVS), Health Ministry and Immigration Department."

"We sincerely hope the relevant authorities will help the dogs and ensure the health of Malaysians are safeguarded as soon as possible by fast-tracking the necessary approvals so we can get the vaccine and the WVS team to come quickly," the group said.

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"We had a fruitful discussion," Dr Afif said.

“The state also gave WVS geographical data like where rabies had been detected."

"We are talking to everyone, we want to listen... it is not that we are just ignoring anyone who says there are alternatives," Dr Afif told.

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Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is under heavy fire for authorising the mass culling of stray dogs in Penang to curb rabies, says he is ready to face the backlash from voters.

"The professionals managed to convince me, so that was why I signed the order. I cannot put the lives of 1.6 million people at risk," Lim said today.

"If we have to lose votes because we have to protect humans and pet dogs, I am willing to face the loss of personal support," Lim told reporters at his Komtar office.

"I will not play that type of game. Lose popular support, so be it. I have to be accountable to all voters and pet dogs.

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A senior citizen is the third person in Penang to be bitten by a stray dog, making it the third case in the state amid the rabies scare.

The incident has been confirmed by the state Health Department through an announcement made by its director Datuk Dr Zailan Adnan.

“The third case saw a 65-year-old man bitten by a stray dog in Balik Pulau on September 18 but our department is yet to ascertain whether the disease is spreading to human beings,” she told.

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"We managed to catch the dog and ran test on samples of the dog’s brain, which reveal that it has rabies," she added.

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More than 1,000 stray dogs have been caught and culled since August in the northern states despite an outcry by dog lovers, as authorities in Penang, Kedah and Perlis deal with the first rabies outbreak in three years.

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The exercise is now in full swing with some 200 personnel from the Veterinary Services Department throughout the country deployed to the three rabies-hit states.

Dr Siti Salmiah Tahir, Penang's director of veterinary services, said the strays were caught using tranquillisers and put to sleep by injection on site.

"The dogs culled on the island will be incinerated while those on the mainland will be buried," she told.

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The rabies infections in the north likely came from neighbouring Thailand since the infections are concentrated in Perlis, Kedah and Penang.

The Veterinary Services Depart­ment said infected dogs could have brought the viral disease into Malaysia which has been rabies-free since 1999.

However, its deputy director-general Datuk Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizam declined to name the country that the infected dogs could have come from.

"We were free from rabies but the disease still occurs in a neighbouring country," was all he would say.

He said it was standard procedure to vaccinate dogs against rabies at the border but these areas were quite porous and an infected animal likely got past.

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Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng signed the order, in force since Tuesday, 15 September, to declare Penang a rabies infected area. As such, all strays will be rounded up and destroyed to prevent the spread of the disease.

The order also states that all dogs are quarantined within state borders, unless with written consent from the state veterinary department director.

Furthermore, all owners of dogs aged three months and above are required to have their pets vaccinated and tagged. All pet dogs are also to be kept indoors or caged, and must be on a lead for walks.

“If they are let loose, outside of private property, owners risk their dog being caught and destroyed as well,” Lim told.

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A committee member of the coalition of the NGOs, "Stop Killing, Start Vaccinating", Joel Gurprit Singh said killing the dogs would not be a permanent solution to the outbreak.

He said Lim had not practised transparent administration when dealing with the rabies outbreak and many NGOs were not consulted before the state came to the decision to kill dogs.

"I'm very disappointed with his decision to kill stray dogs as it is not the permanent solution to the problem," he told.

He said the state should start vaccinating instead of killing dogs to check the rabies outbreak.

"If there is shortage of vaccine, a global NGO is willing to offer the vaccine for stray dogs in Penang," he said.

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"This is not my decision but the decision of the state Health Services director and state Veterinary Services director who are experts on the issue," Lim told.

"Are the animal activists experts on dealing with the situation or merely looking at the rights of the animals?

"What about the rights of the people whose safety and health is of paramount importance to the state?" he asked.

Lim added that swift action was needed because rabies, which was first detected in Perlis and Kedah, had found its way to Penang in such a short period of time.

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However, 10 of 39 dogs which bit them have tested positive for the disease.

Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the victims were given proper treatment, including anti-rabies vaccination, at hospitals.

“They are in stable condition and show no symptoms of rabies infection. They are still being monitored,” he said yesterday.

He advised those bitten by dogs to immediately seek medical treatment.

“And, maintain proper hygiene by washing hands with soap and water after being in contact with pet dogs,” he added.

He said 167 pet dogs were brought in by their owners to the department for vaccination.

Dr Afif Bahardin said dog owners could bring their pets for vaccination between 8am and 5pm from Monday to Friday, adding that they would be charged RM35 per dose.

“All vaccinated dogs will be given a tag. Dog owners who take their dogs to private veterinary clinics, have to get a letter from the veterinarian and bring it to the department to get the tag,” Dr Afif added.