THE People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) has urged the public to exercise caution and compassion when dealing with animals, including wild boars and snakes, following a viral video showing the violent mishandling of a python in Davao City.
In a statement released Wednesday, January 21, 2026, Peta expressed outrage over the video, which shows a giant python being swung around and slammed onto the concrete after it wandered into the middle of a road.
“Peta is horrified by the video showing a python that wandered onto a Davao street being violently mishandled instead of helped,” the group said.
“Philippine pythons are shy, generally docile animals who pose little threat and deserve gentle, respectful treatment. We share this planet with wildlife, and when animals enter human spaces, the normal human response should be mercy and compassion — not fear and cruelty.”
Peta said the snake should have been rescued by trained authorities and safely returned to its natural habitat.
The incident occurred Monday evening, January 19, when the python was spotted in the middle of a road in Barangay Cabantian, Davao City. Traffic was temporarily halted as motorists were unable to pass.
In the video shared by Amerson Sarenas, a man is seen fearlessly dragging the python by its tail before spinning it around and repeatedly slamming it onto the concrete. The snake did not attempt to bite and was eventually pulled toward the side of the road.
Sarenas told SunStar Davao in an online interview that they no longer know what happened to the python afterward, adding that he was shocked not only by the sight of the large snake but also by the man’s actions.
‘Animals deserve rights and protection’
The incident also drew condemnation from actress Nadine Lustre and her boyfriend, Christophe Bariou, who expressed their dismay on Instagram.
“This was a terrible and cruel act to witness… I truly wish someone had stopped that person immediately,” Bariou wrote in an Instagram story on Thursday, which Lustre reshared. “All animals, including those that may be harder for us to relate to, like reptiles, feel pain and suffer. We cannot allow ourselves to treat animals as mere objects. This is why animals deserve rights and protection.”
Lustre and Bariou are known animal advocates who promote veganism with PETA, rescue animals, and regularly speak out against animal cruelty.
Laws on animal abuse
In the Philippines, snakes and other wildlife are protected under Republic Act (RA) No. 9147, or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, as well as the Animal Welfare Act (RA 8485).
RA 9147 strictly prohibits the killing or injury of wildlife, with penalties for harming endangered species reaching up to six years of imprisonment and fines of as much as ₱500,000. Meanwhile, RA 8485 criminalizes the torture, maltreatment, or neglect of any animal.
These protections are reinforced through the Animal Welfare Supervision and Accreditation Program, which recently received government funding to strengthen enforcement.
While killing a snake is generally illegal, exceptions are allowed only in cases of imminent danger to human life, authorized scientific research, or specific indigenous religious practices.
Authorities have urged the public to immediately report wildlife-related incidents to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) or local law enforcement to ensure proper rescue, documentation, and legal action.
One Health approach
Wild animals, such as reptiles like pythons, play an important role because they are part of the connected health system linking humans, animals, and ecosystems. According to the World Health Organization, they act as reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens. Wild animals can harbor microbes (viruses, bacteria, parasites) that may be capable of infecting humans or domestic animals. These pathogens can circulate in wildlife populations and sometimes spill over into humans — particularly when humans come into closer contact with wild species.
They also act as indicators for disease surveillance.
Wild animals serve as sentinel species or early warning indicators of disease threats in the environment. At the same time, they are also part of the ecosystem’s health.
Pythons and other wildlife are integral to ecological balance, and their health is tied to environmental conditions. Poor environmental health (e.g., habitat loss, pollution) can stress wildlife populations, which can in turn increase the likelihood of disease emergence and cross-species transmission. RGL WITH REPORTS FROM CEA