ANIMAL lovers have set up food banks to help feed pets and strays amid high unemployment and loss of income due to the Covid-19 crisis.

They told The Malaysian Insight they want to help financially straitened owners who are struggling to buy food for their pets while ensuring that the animals are not abandoned and add to the problem of strays.

Last year saw a 70% increase in the number of pets being abandoned, according to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

In Pandan Indah, Ampang in Selangor, food truck owner Chan Wai Yee has started a pet food bank on  Facebook. She has received many calls for help.

“Some pet owners who have seven or eight cats at home can’t afford to buy food for the cats while others who have started a shelter have not been able to find funds to buy food for the animals in the shelter.

“They came from different parts of Selangor to get my help. The farthest was from Rawang,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Chan said she would do her best to help those in need.

“Because interstate travel is not allowed, some of them cannot collect the pet food directly from me so I use e-hailing services to deliver it to them.”

She was inspired to start a pet food bank by the white flag movement, which encourages those who require help to signal their need so that others in the community can go to their aid.

She said if people can go hungry, pets must be hungry too.

“Through the white flag movement we have provided many people with food aid but animals can’t fly a white flag.

“We are worried that owners will start abandoning their pets because they can’t afford to keep them anymore. I hope we can help those in urgent need.”

Chan said she and her partner spent around RM3,000 on kibbles and canned food for cats and dog. They can be collected from her food truck from noon to 3pm daily.

“Pet food is expensive and we have limited funds. But we have decided to allocate 10% of our profits to the pet food bank.”

Feeding the strays

In Skudai, Johor, Woi Kah Chee runs a pet grooming and cafe business but business has been severely affected by the epidemic.

She has started a food bank is for pet owners who can no longer afford to feed their pets and for volunteers who feed strays out of their own pocket.

But not everyone is happy about the arrangement.  

“Some said if these people can’t even feed themselves, they shouldn’t keep pets. These are probably people who have not had any pets and can’t understand what the pet owners and pets are going through.

“However, I have also received many offers from people willing to donate food and money for the pet food bank. There are still a lot of caring people out there,” she said.

Pet store owner Lee Tian Hock in Ipoh, Perak realised that since the movement control orders (MCO) started last year, many pet owners have not been able to feed their pets due to loss of income.

“I decided to take part in the red flag initiative started by the Malaysian Animal Association and started a pet food bank.”

Since starting the pet food bank, Lee said he has met all sorts of characters – some are greedy and try to hoard as much cat and dog food as they can.

“To help as many people as we can, we limit how much food each person can take. They are welcome to come back once the food runs out.
“There are, however, those who insist on taking as many packets as possible at one go.

“There are those who still impress me even though they are going through hardship. One day, a man came to collect some pet food and he told me he would pay me back if he had the money.”

Lee said he was worried pet owners who can no longer feed their pets will start abandoning them, leading to more social problems.

“It’s not just about strays, but it is also related to society. When there is an increase in strays, they will start foraging for food in rubbish dumps and this will affect the cleanliness of the city.

Strays which are easily spooked by passing vehicles such as motorcycles might also attack passers-by.”

Abandoned

Since the pandemic started last year, SPCA Selangor has reported a 70% increase in pet abandonment. They are receiving calls, emails and contact through social media.

SPCA’s welfare officer Kelvin Cheah said the group has received a lot of requests for assistance with pet food because many owners have lost their income due to the pandemic.

“We have received many requests for help, for food, medical treatment and sterilisation of stray animals.”

Cheah said compared to SPCA, smaller shelters faced bigger financial difficulties.

“We are also facing the same problem but as a larger organisation, it is difficult to convince people we are struggling.”

According to data from the SPCA, it has exceeded its capacity and is finding it more difficult to rescue more pets.

In 2019, SPCA took in 524 pets of which 385 were adopted. In 2020, of the 483 pets they rescued only 420 were adopted.

“The other thing that we are worried about is people may start to abandon their pets to move for work once economic activities resume. They may abandon their pets because they are moving for a job, school or going abroad.”

The red flag movement was started by the Malaysian Animal Association earlier this month to help distressed pet owners.

Since the rolling lockdowns since March last year, the group has received reports of animal abuse and pet abandonment. It receives an average of two or three reports a month but last month there were 10 cases.

Arie Dwi Andika, the chairman of the association said that pets are regarded as family to many owners and the notion of abandoning them is not an easy decision.

“We have noticed that there are more strays on the streets which is sad. Some of them don’t know how to dodge cars and get run over easily. I hope people will show their love and support for this movement so more pets will not be abandoned.” – July 21, 2021.