The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) says it has seen an increase in people dumping animals outside their premises during the Suva lockdown period.
This was highlighted by SPCA clinic shelter manager Shaneel Narayan during an interview with this newspaper yesterday.
Mr Narayan said they had seen an increase in stray animals.
“People are basically dumping them outside our gate.
We would like to say to people, if possible, if they could foster the animals,” Mr Narayan said.
“If the communities could get together and look after the animals.
If there are stray dogs in your street, at least try to feed them until the lockdown is over and we will definitely take them in.
But we need the support of the communities as well.” He added a lot of people were dumping boxes of puppies and kittens outside their gate.
Meanwhile, he said they had minimised the number of people they were coming in contact with.
“We have stopped our consultations. We are only looking at urgent stuff like emergencies.
Normal consultations and check-ups are on hold due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
“This started as soon as Suva went on lockdown.
If anything that is urgent or needs attention, our team is looking at it.
Apart from that, rest of the stuff has been rescheduled to a later date. Our elective surgery for de-sexing also has been put on hold.
“We have minimal staff on duty and we are trying to follow the directive given by the Government.”
He said if their clients and members’ pets needed urgent care, they were to contact their office and make an appointment before coming in.
