By Shikin Louis & Karen Bong
KUCHING, Oct 13: The Sarawak government will allocate some budget for the Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) in the 2024 Sarawak Budget to help the organisation fulfil its vision of establishing a new state-of-the-art Animal Village which construction has been severely delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg made this announcement, acknowledging the invaluable work that SSPCA has done in advancing animal welfare, educating the public on responsible pet ownership, and fighting alongside councils, the Vet Department, and Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) to combat rabies.
“I understand the construction of the Animal Village has been delayed due to the pandemic and the rising costs of building materials.
“As Sarawak takes great strides in our march towards development, we know the Animal Village will also raise the standards for animal shelters and also the public perception of animal welfare,” he emphasised when officiating at the opening ceremony of Asia For Animals (AfA) Sarawak Conference 2023 held at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) today.
Earlier on, SSPCA president Datin Dona Drury Wee stressed that the building costs for the Animal Village, initially proposed 14 years ago, have escalated dramatically from RM2.5 million in 2009 to an estimated RM9 million today, owing to post-Covid inflation.
It is worth noting that after a lengthy procedure of obtaining titles for a two-acre land in Sungai Tapang in September 2015, the groundbreaking for the Animal Shelter only took place in September 2019, with construction costs estimated at RM7 million.
“We are looking at ways to reduce this cost, but our infrastructure alone, with the Department of Drainage and Irrigation coming in and telling us we have to dig our drains one foot wider and one foot deeper around a two-acre plot, that is a lot of additional costs. So now we will have to build in small phases, cut our coat according to the cloth.
“But this is our aim, to change the perception of animals and their welfare with this new Animal Village. In line with Sarawak’s goal of becoming a developed region by 2030, we must elevate our treatment of animals, promoting education on animal welfare, and cultivating a culture of compassion, respect, and responsibility towards all living beings,” Dona emphasised.
The present SSPCA animal shelter located near a bustling commercial area in Kota Sentosa, she shared, is at risk of flooding, having been inundated three times in the last two years.
In the meantime, SSPCA is seeking support from all segments of society to raise RM5 million to turn the vision of the new Animal Village into reality.
The AfA Sarawak Conference 2023, themed “Education and Engagement Bring Change”, saw 400 delegates and 82 speakers from more than 23 countries converge at BCCK, exploring an array of impactful initiatives, studies, campaigns, and research projects that underscore the profound connection between animals, education, engagement, and the positive transformations that ensue.
Amongst those present were Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government (MPHLG) Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian; Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (MFICORD) Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom; Deputy Sarawak Secretary (Operation) Datu Hii Chang Kee; Asia for Animals Coalition (AfA) 2023 chairman Dave Neale; and Place Borneo Sdn Bhd director Gracie Geikie who is also SSPCA chairperson and the event’s organising chairperson. — DayakDaily
