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PetFinder.my 
Sep 22, 2015 
NGOs, PetFinder.my 
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NGO Offers 50,000 Free Vaccines, Manpower To Penang
Free Malaysia Today, Sep 22: International NGO Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS) is ready to supply 50,000 vaccines at any time to Penang for free to cover all pets and stray dogs and assist with manpower to fully conduct mass vaccinations.
However, even though WVS has the vaccines ready and can mobilise manpower, the mountain of paperwork and application processes that must be completed beforehand, would mean they can only arrive in Penang at the end of the year.
Among the major requirements would be the need for approvals from the Health Ministry as well as the Veterinary Services and Immigration Departments.
“Therefore we sincerely hope that all relevant authorities help the dogs and ensure Malaysian public health is safeguarded by fast tracking the necessary approvals so that we can get the vaccines and WVS in quickly,” the Penang-based animal welfare group, Stop The Killing, Start Vaccinating Coalition said in a statement Tuesday.
On Monday evening state health executive councillor Dr Afif Baharuddin hosted a telephone conference with Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS) chief executive officer (CEO) Dr Luke Gamble.
Also present were Pulau Tikus assemblyperson Yap Soo Huey, Penang Veterinary Services Department director Dr Siti Salmiah Tahir and representatives from Stop The Killing, Start Vaccinating Coalition.
During the tele-conference, Dr Gamble told Dr Afif that WVS can immediately arrange for delivery of 50,000 vaccines and, if necessary, enough manpower to fully conduct a mass vaccination programme for dogs in Penang.
Dr Gamble also said that WVS would train local veterinary personnel and volunteers on how to conduct mass vaccination and perform regular surveillance.
“WVS will also immediately provide know-how on how to conduct public education programmes on how to detect rabies and what to do,” elaborated Stop The Killing, Start Vaccinating Coalition.
If the state government agrees to the proposal, Dr Gamble said WVS was committed to assist Penang in training, knowledge transfer and resources for a three-year period.
When asked by a state government representative on whether WVS was willing to prioritise the provision of vaccines to pet dogs first, before stray dogs, Dr Gamble assured that the organisation would carry out the programme as per Penang’s request.
WVS explained that vaccinated dogs would be marked, after which another team would go in with test kits to determine if the vaccination was successful.
Essentially, the dogs would be tested twice with two different methods to confirm they had been successfully vaccinated, then GPS-mapped using smart phone technology so post-vaccination surveillance teams can track vaccination coverage.
WVS will soon send a detailed proposal to the Penang government for its consideration.
“We will be glad to help the Penang government in any way to save the dogs,” said the coalition in a statement.
The teleconference was the first between the Penang government and WVS since rabid dogs were detected in the state since early this month, with the Health Ministry already declaring the northern states of Penang, Kedah and Perlis as rabies infected areas.
The authorities have adopted mass killing of stray dogs as the right policy to clean up the northern region from the deadly disease and so far, over 2,000 dogs have been culled, mostly in Kedah.The Health Ministry claimed that out of 60 dog samples tested, 40 tested positive for rabies.
In Penang, Chief Minister CM Lim Guan Eng’s administration has come under fire from dog lovers and social media users for conducting the mass murder of animals.
Lim in particular was criticised heavily and labelled with nasty names on social media. Penang has reported three cases of humans being bitten by rabid dogs. Although the stray dogs tested positive for rabies, the victims tested negative.
Source: Free Malaysia Today, http://bit.ly/1Qvbtjw
Photo Credit: Mission Rabies, WVS
Source: https://www.facebook.com/PetFinder.my/photos/a.2849535748836..
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