Firefighters kept busy rescuing snakes, lizards

Firefighters were summoned today to catch a three-metre-long python in Iskandar Puteri, Gelang Patah, the latest animal rescue Johor firefighters have engaged in since the imposition of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to check COVID-19.

The firefighters took just 20 minutes to take the snake away, demonstrating their prowess in animal rescue matched their skills in fighting fires.

Johor Fire and Rescue Department director Datuk Yahaya Madis said that lately the department has been summoned more often to rescue snakes, biawak (large lizards), cats, dogs and runaway cows as well as take down wasp nests.

He said there have been more cases of the sighting of snakes, lizards and wasps than accidents and fires.

"Since the imposition of the MCO (on March 18), the statistics show that we have been summoned more often to handle animals than fight fires or rescue people.

"Sometimes, in a day we are summoned to attend to 10 to 30 (animal rescue) cases in the whole of Johor," he told Bernama.

Yahaya also said that the hot and rainy weather also contributed to the rising number of cases involving venomous animals.

Between April and June this year, the number of cases involving special humanitarian services rose about 40 to 50 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year.

"In April this year, there were 431 cases compared to 319 in April 2019. In May this year, there were more cases, 489, compared to 349 in May last year. Last month, the number of cases surged to 638 compared to 391 in June last year," he said.

About 30 to 40 per cent of the cases reported involved venomous reptiles and insects. Other special humanitarian services included rescuing kittens and dogs as well as runaway cows.

-- BERNAMA