AN average of 150 pets and strays, mainly cats and dogs, die when an area is hit by floods, an animal rights group said.

Persatuan Haiwan Terbiar Malaysia president Kalaivanan Ravichandran said this figure was only an estimate, adding that the number could be higher depending on localities.

Kalaivanan said that most deaths occur due to the negligence of pet owners and the disregard shown by people in helping animals in distress during floods.

“Up to 150 pets and strays die during the flood season (in a place).

“Strays have no owners and there is no one to rescue them, while some pet owners can be negligent.

“When there is a flood, they want to save their family members first and they panic, which will not do any good,” the 34-year-old told The Malaysian Insight.

Kalaivanan said among the common mistakes made by pet owners during floods is their failure to uncage or unchain their pets.

“All that needs to be done is to unlock their cages or chains if you can’t take them. Some (pets) are able to swim, while some will find a safe place. 

“However, when the owners don’t set their animals free, they lose their last chance to escape the floods and they drown,” he said.

Kalaivanan said animals should be well fed and kept dry during the flood to prevent them from falling ill.

“Regardless of what you have, feed them, even if it’s just bread. They need nutrition.

“Some animals will survive the flood but after some time, due to malnutrition, they might succumb to infection,” he said.

Kalaivanan also said his association conducts free medical check-ups for the Malaysian Veterinary Medical Association (Mavma) during floods, but said that the service could not be extended to all states.

“When floods hit Sri Muda last year, the association and Mavma provided free consultations for some 400 animals, pets and strays.

“However, we had some obstacles in bringing certain associations and groups to other states.”

Deliver pet food instead

Kalaivanan said although they are not able to provide medical consultation for the animals, the group still tries to help to send pet food to flood hit areas.

He said the initiative was made after some pet owners and stray rescuers complained about the lack of food for animals.

“Some said there was excess food for humans but none for the pets.

“In such cases, we sent kibbles for the animal. Some pets are already used to kibbles, so they can’t take rice or other food,” he said.

Kalaivanan said during the recent floods that hit Johor, they sent almost 1,000kg of kibbles for pets, especially to hard-hit districts like Batu Pahat and Segamat.

He said such a volume of pet food would sustain the animals for two to three weeks.

“We focused on Johor because it was the hardest hit state. We sent the first round of pet food weighing nearly 1,000kg, costing RM5,000 including transport.

“We will have to send more in two to three weeks because we understand that it was not enough.

“Kibbles can only last for three weeks, after that we will check on the situation, and we will send again,” he said.

At its peak earlier this month, more than 85,000 people in Johor were reported to have been affected by the floods, described as one of the worst to have hit the state.

In 2021, in what was dubbed as Malaysia’s worst flood, almost 50 people were killed, and it required the evacuation of about 400,000 people, and resulted in an overall estimate of RM6.1 billion in financial losses.

Kalaivanan that his group relies heavily on donations and said anyone who wished to help could donate to: Persatuan Haiwan Terbiar Malaysia (SAFM), account number: 100040234095 Affin Bank. – March 21, 2023.