SOME Davao City Government officials representing the city government said that they are “very willing” to lift the closure order of the Happy Animals Club animal shelter should the latter comply with the needed recommendations.
In a letter sent to the animal shelter, the City Health Office (CHO) cited that the establishment “has no pertinent documents such Health Certificates of all employees and volunteers and Sanitary Permit to operate for the current year”.
CHO also noted that the odor and noise nuisance still existed during their inspection “not only within the facility but also at the nearby properties”.
It added that the facility has “no septic tank for proper animal manure and liquid water disposal draining the said wastes directly to the public drainage system”. The noise nuisance also is observable approximately 50 to 100 meters away from the shelter.
“Sound level meter reading [of the animal shelter during CHO’s inspection] ranges from 78 to 82 dB (decibels, the unit for measuring sound); maximum allowable noise levels in Category A areas under Section 1 of Chapter XVI of City Ordinance 078,” the CHO said in the letter.
Under the city ordinance, only 55dB is recommended during morning and evening, while 45dB for nighttime.
The letter also cited that the shelter had no abatement plan nor had presented plans for the disposal of dead animals during the CHO’s re-inspection last October 20.
The local government officials reiterated that the smell and noise were still there during the re-inspection.
Meanwhile, a separate inspection done by the City Veterinarian’s Office (CVO) also recommended that a shelter drainage system must be improved to avoid stagnation of wastewater outside the fence. Air ventilation must also be improved especially at the sick animals’ quarters.
It can be noted that the animal shelter owner Ken Amante in a Facebook video, pointed out that their neighbors filed this complaint because they were being “harassed into moving”.
“Their landlady passed away and our neighbor’s relative is trying to take control of this property,” Amante said.
In response, the city representatives said that they had taken action simply because they received complaints, and the “outside motives” of complainants were out of their control.
They also clarified that the animals will not be put into the dog pound, rather the advice to transfer is “a typical recommendation based on the city’s due process”.
The animal shelter said they would need more time in order to abide by the city’s sanitary standards, “probably before the year ends”.
“Tupadon namo ang mga recommendations na gihatag sa City Health and City Vet, para ma-reach namo ang standards na ilang gi-set (We will implement the recommendations provided by the City Health and the City Vet, so that we can meet the standards they have set),” Leah Daño, one of the animal shelter rescuers, said in an interview with the media after their dialogue with the city representatives on October 24. ICE
