Posters stoke Coronavirus Disease 2019 bias, urge people to avoid pets and strays

THANE: As panic rises over the coronavirus outbreak, posters asking people to stay away from strays and sick animals to avoid the new infection are popping up. Animal rights activists from Navi Mumbai recently had to seek help from Maneka Gandhi to get a private hospital and pharmacy chain to remove such posters from Seawoods.
Although doctors and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have clarified that there is no evidence that companion animals such as dogs and cats can be infected with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19), activists say there are growing instances of pets and strays bearing the brunt of myths and misconceptions around the virus. One housing colony in Thane (West) last week asked people feeding stray dogs and cats to stop doing so because "animals carry viruses".
Last week, members of A Life For Animals (Alfa) Foundation came across posters in Seawoods urging citizens to avoid contact with strays and sick animals. "We wrote an email to (animal rights leader and MP) Maneka Gandhi on February 12 stating how the pharmacy chain was spreading wrong messages," said Seema Tank, a member of the NGO.
‘No proof domestic animals are spreading coronavirus’
On February 17, Gandhi’s NGO People for Animals wrote to the senior general manager of the chain, stating: “We have received a serious complaint regarding some objectionable material in the pharmacy. Please see the attached poster that mentions to avoid contact with stray dogs. This statement is misleading, exaggerated and scientifically baseless.”
The chain replied the next day, saying the poster had been removed from all their branches in Mumbai.
Veterinarians and infectious disease experts confirmed that the coronavirus does not spread through pets. “There is speculation that Covid-19 can spread through domestic animals, but there is no conclusive scientific report. People should, however, maintain hand hygiene and cook meat properly,” said infectious diseases specialist Dr Om Srivastava from Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai.
Dr R Gaikwad, superintendent of Bombay Veterinary Hospital, said the hospital receives several calls from pet owners asking about the spread of virus from animals.
“People should not believe such rumours as there is no scientific report on any domestic animals or birds being infected with the virus or spreading the disease,” he said.
A Thane resident who feeds 15 stray cats every day has received a warning from the management of his housing society. “Society officials have for long had a problem with me feeding these cats, but they have begun turning other residents against me after the emergence of Covid-2019,” the resident said. “Repeated attempts to educate people have proved futile.”
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Thane (SPCA) too has come across similar complaints. “Coronavirus fear should be limited as a matter of concern, not of panic as there are no reports of the disease in animals in the country. As long as we are informed of the latest status of Covid-19, maintain respiratory hygiene, and visit a doctor as soon as we are feeling unwell, there is nothing to be afraid of,” said Thane SPCA president Shakuntala Majumdar.