By Moon
In the urban scene of Yangon, people are moving around and busy with their chores and duties under the scorching sun. In the middle of such a crowd, four abandoned kittens, less than a week old, can be seen in a garbage dump near the market. The kittens were placed in a wooden drawer, and the mother cat was nowhere to be seen.
Some curious people approached to take a closer look at them. Still, kittens are suffering from extreme heat and desperation, despite the attention they got. No one has stepped forward to take care of them. But after a while, a girl and a boy picked up the drawer and held it in their arms. They also seemed to be contacting someone with their mobile phone. After a great deal of time, a group of people got out of their car and took the kittens with them. It is sure that the kittens are in good hands since they are from a certain animal rescue shelter.
An event like this frequently occurs in the urban and rural environments of Myanmar. But the end result is not always like that. Stray cats and dogs are considered good companions for humans by animal lovers; on the other hand, some people loathe them considering they can bring harm and various diseases. Stray dogs were mostly handled by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) every year by killing with poison to control the population, which is not very effective. The disagreement between YCDC and animal lovers regarding stray dogs’ population control methods never came to a solution due to various reasons, such as a lack of financial assistance and human resources for the use of more humane methods. In addition to stray dogs, the number of stray felines is also increasing in the blink of an eye. Who is to blame for the increase in these numbers? In my opinion, it all depends on us. One must help as much as possible to take care of all the poor creatures in need, not by feeding them without taking responsibility. Doing so only encourages the problem to get worse.
There are still some thoughtless people who abandon their innocent pets in many ways, giving reasons for their poor health or manners without wanting to take responsibility. Despite the controversy, a lot of people are willing to lend a hand to these poor little creatures. Not all people are animal lovers, but those who want to save a life on the go can take a role in helping them by adopting them or sending them to shelters and making donations to shelters to meet their needs.
Nowadays, many animal rescue shelters have also appeared in Yangon and some other cities to provide stray cats and dogs with the necessary procedures for their health, including vaccination and sterilization processes, which have already reduced the reproductive rate.
At last, I would like to share the quote of Karen Davison: “Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely for that one dog, the world will change forever.” According to reformed writing, “Saving one animal won’t change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal.”
One can contact the following Facebook pages for the purpose of finding a forever home for stray cats and dogs: https://www.facebook.com/GoldenHeartanimalsrescueyangon, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087916788003, https://www.facebook.com/bynilar, and many others.
