For Immediate Release:
20 March 2020


Sydney – Although experts from the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and elsewhere agree that cats and dogs are not at risk of getting COVID­-19 nor transmitting it to humans, PETA is offering information about the best ways to keep animal companions and their guardians safe and healthy during this unprecedented outbreak. Will you please share the following information with your audience? Doing so might save a life.

  • People who are sick or under medical attention for COVID-19 should avoid close contact with animals and have another member of their household care for animals so as not to get the virus on their fur. Coronavirus can be left on animals’ fur, just as it can remain on a doorknob, a handrail, another human hand, or any other surface that an infected person has touched.

“Our dogs and cats rely on us to take care of them year round and especially during times of crisis,” says PETA spokesperson Emily Rice. “PETA is asking everyone to ensure that their animals are still getting healthy food, plenty of exercise, and lots of love.”

Anyone who is quarantined and unable to care for their companion animals or who encounters an animal in immediate physical danger or in urgent need of food or veterinary care should call their local RSPCA.
