THOSE who transport animals inside cramped trucks or cages can face penalties of up to P250,000, the Department of Agriculture (DA) warned.
Dr. Ma. Gracia Dizon-Flores, chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Animal Welfare Division, said slaughter animals “also have feelings and emotions and must have freedom from stress, hunger and thirst and from cruelty.”
Flores said this is the reason Republic Act 8485, or the Animal Welfare Act, was amended by RA 10631, which raised the penalties and deputized the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement units to arrest and file charges against violators.
Flores said the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of RA 10631 were submitted to the DA Central Office for the signature of Secretary Proceso Alcala.
Exceptions
RA 10631 also prohibits butchers, slaughterhouse men and meat inspectors from using sharp instruments like a hunting knife to kill swine and cattle.
Flores advised them to use electric shock and use the knife only when the animals are already unconscious.
Cebu City Veterinarian Dr. Alice Utlang, who is designated as executive director of the City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention, said under RA 8485, the penalty was only P5,000, regardless of the violation.
However, under RA 10631, penalties can be as high as P250,000, depending on how serious the violations are.
Syndicates and government personnel will automatically get bigger penalties of up to P250,000 because a syndicate is an organized crime, while government personnel are mandated to uphold the law to protect the people’s health and promote animal welfare.
Updating standards
In a related development, DA 7 Executive Technical Director Joel Elumba urged local government units (LGUs) to build their own slaughterhouse to serve the community and improve existing abattoirs for higher classification by the National Meat Inspection Service.
“How can we achieve good meat quality if we don’t have good slaughterhouse,” Elumba said.
He noted that even the Cebu City abattoir does not comply with the standards set by RA 10631, while the other LGUs have no slaughterhouse at all.
The BAI is conducting a two-day seminar (Nov. 24-25) at Harold’s Hotel in Cebu City on “Improved Animal Welfare in the Transport of Farm Animals for Slaughter” attended by traders, local officials, butchers and other stakeholders so they may know the rules and regulations.
Dr. Miriam Lopez-Vito said traders and handlers must ensure that loading and land transport of cattle must be within the standards.
Dr. Dale Franco Llentic of BAI discussed cattle behavior and the understanding of cattle sensory modalities in context of animal handling at the slaughterhouse.
Dr. Jhonabeth Pajarillaga, also of BAI, talked about animal welfare and meat quality.