They may have escaped Wuhan — the Chinese city at the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic — but many left without their pets and almost two weeks on, they fear for their animals which have been left without food and water.
“A few days ago, I went to an apartment where the owner left a three-day supply of food and water for a cat,” Lao said. “When I went into the apartment and opened the door, the cat was so starved, so thin — already dehydrated, on the verge of dying. It drank the water for more than ten seconds. But luckily, I saved it.”Du Fan, the head of Wuhan Animal Protection Association, said they have been inundated with around 3,500 requests for help since the lockdown began.
Most of the calls they get are to feed cats and dogs, but requests have been made for reptiles, rabbits, birds and mini pigs, he said. He said he initially sought help from animal protection groups in Wuhan, but eventually found a friend who volunteered to go in. There are also reports that some animals have been abandoned because of unsubstantiated rumors that pets can transmit the coronavirus.
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