Pets should be in your bubble too.
Coronavirus: Kiwis need to keep their pets in lockdown bubble too
Steven Walton
05:25, Mar 26 2020
Pets need to be kept in the family bubble during New Zealand's lockdown, too, an infectious disease expert says.
"Whatever your bubble is for the month, this is the bubble you must maintain,"
Professor David Hayman, an infectious disease ecology expert at Massey University's veterinary science school, said pets had to follow this too – and he urged people to treat their pets "as if it's someone you do care for and love".
"If I cough on my hands, stroke a dog's head, and then a kid comes along, strokes the dog's head, and then touches their face ... that's a way of transferring infection."
The lockdown was not a reason for people to stop walking their dogs or riding their horses, he said, but contact with others should be limited.
Hayman encouraged people with cats to keep them inside, as they tend to roam.
People should be conscious of contact with their own pet too, he said. Hands are fine if washed, but faces should be kept apart because the virus can enter through the nose and mouth.
Dr Helen Beattie, chief veterinary officer for the New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA), agreed pets had to be kept in the family bubble.
It's a good practice at this point to consider your household is your life and your world."
She encouraged people to use pets as "a source of comfort".
"I've heard a lot of stories about a lot of animals are very happy to have a whole bunch of people at home in their life rather than heading off to work everyday".
Beattie said for people who had recently returned from overseas or had been in close contact with a confirmed coronavirus case, it would "make some sense" to reduce contact with pets.
Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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35.5% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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64.5% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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