Australians have experienced lockdowns, curfews and several harsh restrictions on freedoms in order to stop the coronavirus spread.
But you know what hasn’t adhered to lockdown? Your pets.
With the coronavirus pandemic spiralling out of control in the United Kingdom, researchers have revealed that pet owners should also be restricting their pet’s movements to minimise the virus’s spread.
Research found that domesticated animals such as cats and hamsters can contract the virus, as can other creatures such as ferret and mink.
The Swiss animal clinic AniCura said international experts supported keeping pets away from each other to minimise risk.
“The (American) Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advise pet owners to apply social distancing rules to their pets,” AniCura vet Johannes Kaufmann said.
The CDC recommends that owners should “treat their pets like humans” until more is known about the effects of the coronavirus on animals.
So for cats, it means lockdowns while dogs are advised to keep a safe two-metre distance.
Virologist Volker Thiel said keeping a safe distance away “is just as useful” for animals to ensure they “cannot transmit the virus to humans or other pets”.
There is no documented evidence of humans catching coronavirus from their pets, but a number of animals have tested positive for COVID-19.
A mutant strain of mink-related coronavirus had been found in humans in Denmark.
The country announced on November 6 that it will cull its entire population of about 17 million mink to stop a mutated strain of the virus that has been linked to animals.
