Animals Asia recently sent the attached letter to the Filipino Consul in Hong Kong to express our concern about the continuation of the vicious dog-meat trade in the Phillippines. While the government has put the appropriate legislation in place and banned the use of dogs as meat, there is a serious lack of enforcement and the horrendous torture and killing continues.
The Consul General
Consulate General of the Philippines
14/F United Ctr.
95 Queensway
Admiralty
Hong Kong
17/12/2008
Dear Sir,
My name is Mark Jones, I am a veterinarian from the UK, and I work as director of animal welfare at Animals Asia Foundation, a Hong Kong based non-government organisation dedicated to improving the lives of all animals across Asia.
On behalf of Animals Asia Foundation, I would like to commend the Government of the Philippines for introducing legislation aimed at curbing dog eating and the associated mistreatment of dogs by increasing the penalties for dog meat traders, and controlling rabies by a process of vaccination, dog registration and encouragement of responsible pet ownership, most recently in the form of the Republic Act 9482 (Anti-rabies Act 2007), which in turn refers to the Republic Act: 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998) for guidance on the humane treatment of animals.
Section 8 of the Anti-rabies Act (2007) calls for the assistance of non-government organisations in the implementation of the act, where appropriate.
We have close relationships with non-government organisations working in the field of animal welfare in the Philippines. We understand that the enforcement of the legislation is slow, corruption within the enforcement process frequently occurs, and that mistreatment and consumption of dogs (particularly street dogs in small barangays and towns) is still common practice.
In the light of this, and in support of Filipino non-governmental organisations including the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), the Animal Kingdom Foundation, the John Hughes Foundation, and the Philippine SPCA, we would urge you to consider the following actions:
Introduce educational seminars for law enforcement officials and judges, in order to increase understanding of how the new legislation should be interpreted and enforced
Establish temporary holding areas for confiscated dogs, so that the animals can receive humane treatment through the holding period, and that corruption within the enforcement system can be reduced. Introduce central animal control facilities in each city, which will facilitate monitoring of dog numbers, ownership claims, and animal welfare by appointed veterinarians
Consider government support for shelters such as the excellent Animal Rehabilitation Centre run by the Philippine Animal Welfare Society in Quezon City. This organisation not only runs the rehabilitation facility, but also public education and dog therapy programmes, which would benefit greatly from public funding
Integrate dog neutering programmes for both owned and stray dog populations with rabies vaccination programmes, in order to achieve humane dog population control to facilitate the control of rabies and reduce the problem of stray dogs
In spite of the introduction of legislation, the issue of dog eating and the inhumane treatment of dogs in the Philippines is still very much on the agenda of international welfare groups (I refer you to the Humane Society International campaign to help stop the illegal sale of dog meat in the Philippines https://community.hsus.org/campaign/hsi_ph_dog_meat_baguio). We urge the Government of the Philippines to embrace the spirit of their own legislation, and take the necessary action to eliminate the eating and inhumane treatment of dogs, and as such to become a leading light for other Asian countries where dog eating still occurs.
Yours sincerely,
(For and on behalf of Animals Asia Foundation)
Mark Jones BVSc MSc(Stir) MSc(London) MRCVS, Veterinarian
Animal Welfare Director
Animals Asia Foundation
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2791 2225
Fax: (852) 2791 2320
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.animalsasia.org
