Unfounded fears that pets can spread the virus
Vshine Animal Protection Association, a China-based animal welfare and environmental organization which partners with Humane Society International, estimated that the number of dogs and cats left behind in apartments in Hubei cities are in the tens of thousands.
“Things can get worse if the epidemic remains uncontrolled,” Deng Fang, chief of staff for Vshine Animal Protection Association, told CNN.
Many worried residents have contacted organizations like Vshine to ask employees to check in on their pets. Vshine has received at least 400 calls for help in the city of Dailan alone, and they have helped save at least 380 dogs and cats that were left behind, Fang said.
In late February, Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said that samples from a dog’s nasal and oral cavities had tested “weak positive” for novel coronavirus.However, pet owners don’t need to panic just yet, as CNN reported last week. Pets can catch other known coronaviruses, and while the infections can become severe neither has been shown to spread to humans.”At present, the AFCD does not have evidence that pet animals can be infected with COVID-19 virus or can be a source of infection to people,” the AFCD said in a statement.
Hong Kong SPCA Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) issued a similar reminder.”Members of the public are advised to differentiate that ‘being infected’ does not equal being infectious and capable of spreading the Covid-19 virus,” SPCA wrote in a Facebook post.Such fears have caused incidents of violence toward animals in China, Fang and Higgins said, and a local government officials have posted notices warning pet owners to keep animals inside.
