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Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Drive against dog trade intensified
By Jane Cadalig
DEALERS of dogs that are eventually served in various restaurants, especially in Baguio City and Benguet, were warned Tuesday to stop their activities or face the consequences of their action.
This, as two animal welfare groups vowed to intensify their campaign against the illegal transport of dogs, usually delivered to various slaughterhouses in Northern Luzon.
The Global Action Network (GAN), an international animal rights group, and the Network for Animals Philippines (NAP) said they will be coordinating closely with each other to put a stop to the illegal trading of dogs in the country.
GAN director Andrew Plumby, who visited the country to verify reports on the alleged abuses committed against dogs, said they are now coordinating with police authorities to put a stop to the activity and to put behind bars those who are found guilty of violating the Animal Welfare Law.
NAP director Mel Alipio, meanwhile, said dog trading has now become a multi-million business with most of the animals bought at a cheap price.
The animals, he said, usually come from the provinces of Laguna, Cavite and Batangas and are being sold to the provinces of Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, Cagayan, Isabela and Benguet for about P500 to P700 each.
A dog shipment consists of around 70-90 dogs, Alipio said.
It was reported that bulk of the shipments is sold in Baguio City and in La Trinidad, Benguet where restaurants serve dog meats.
In the Cordilleras, the Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) denounced the claim of the Provincial Board (PB) of Benguet that the butcher of dogs and the subsequent eating of the meat is a cultural practice, which is recognized by Republic Act (RA) 8485 or the Animal Welfare Act.
The PB advised authorities conducting raids on food establishments serving dog meats to first secure the necessary deputation from the Department of Agriculture (DA) before performing their raids.
AKF, however, said cultural practices requiring dogs as sacrificial animals are sacred and are only conducted in one or two days and the law exempting it from the imposition of penalties should not be used as basis to commercialize the eating of dog meat.
(December 7, 2005 issue)
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