NEWS
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Vet: Puppies easily infected as they are sold too early
Puppies bought from some pet shops are easily infected with deadly viruses because they are sold too soon, said Malaysian Small Animal Veterinary Association (MSAVA) president Dr G. Gopinathan.
"Puppies should only be weaned after a minimum of five weeks as this will ensure them protection by their mother's antibodies up to at least eight weeks," he said.
However, he said this only applied if the mother had been bred properly and puppies were born in a stress-free environment.
Dr Gopinathan said puppies sold at some pet shops were separated from their mothers too early and vaccinated too soon.
"My advice would be not to buy unvaccinated puppies from pet shops," he said, adding that puppies should only be sold two weeks after they have been given their second vaccination when they would be between 10 and 12 weeks old.
Dr Gopinathan said pet shops should hire qualified veterinary nurses or even a veterinary surgeon to monitor the animals.
PAWS Animal Welfare Society kennel manager Edward Lim claimed that the problem of unethical breeding was rife because it was not a crime in the country.
He said there were no laws prohibiting the practice, adding that action would only be taken if complaints of animal cruelty were lodged against the breeders.
He claimed that unscrupulous breeders were known to leave old and infertile dogs at the shelter's entrance.
The latest case of dumping involved "debarked" Maltese-cross early this year.
(Debarking is a controversial veterinary surgery that involves removal of tissue from the dog's vocal cords. It results in a dog's voice being quieter and sounding like a whisper, thus not irritating the neighbours.)
Lim said there was no monitoring system on canine breeding nor special licences to breed dogs.
"All one has to do is get a pair of pedigrees and produce a litter. Those who are Malaysian Kennel Association (MKA) members just have to register the birth.
"For non-members, they have to prove that both the sire and dam are pedigrees and pay a surcharge to register the puppies," he added.
Meanwhile, visits to several pet shops here yesterday showed that none was willing to disclose where they got their supply of puppies.
When pressed, some of the shop owners said they either bred the puppies on their own or got them from recognised suppliers.
Pets More Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Sean Saw said some of the suppliers were home breeders who wanted to remain anonymous.
"There are no guidelines in Malaysia on what a breeder can or cannot do. They themselves do not know if what they are doing is right or wrong," said Saw.
He said those in the business could not register themselves as breeders because there was no such registry in place.
"They fear they may be keeping far too many dogs than permitted and that local councils will come and seize their dogs if their identities and locations are known," said Saw.
He urged the authorities to formulate proper guidelines and also register all breeders.
"This is what all of us in the industry, including breeders, want," he added.
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