The recent cases on animal cruelty that have been highlighted in the media tell us that there is a growing concern about the way animals are treated in our country.

These are not just foreigners raising the alarm but our fellow Filipinos 'shouting' their indignation loud and clear on social networking sites.

Jerzon Senador who hung a 2-month old puppy by the skin onto a clothesline using "sipit" or clothes pins probably did not pay any attention to the news about Joseph Carlo "JC" Candare - who, in a similar fashion - announced his cruelty for all the world to see on Facebook.

Candare has been convicted while Senador has been formally charged by PAWS for his violation of the Animal Welfare Act.

When we were able to finally track him down in his Calamba home, Senador's parents professed to be animal lovers and simply wanted the episode to be written off as they claimed that their son did not know about the law and was just really fond of taking 'exotic' photos.

The mother even could not fathom why her son was being charged when  - unlike the Candare case - the puppy was 'fine' after the incident. We had to explain that ignorance of the law was not an excuse, and that whether or not the cruel act results in death or injury, charges can be filed.

The family admits that the pup has not seen a vet and yet refused to turn over the animal to PAWS so that "Whitey" can receive proper veterinary attention. They claimed that they would bring the pup to their own vet (whom they could not name) and that they would text me once this has been done. To date, there has been no text or call from the Senadors.

There is much ignorance about animal cruelty and about the law that prosecutes animal offenders. The penalties may be light and there is a current lobby for stiffer fines, longer prison terms and the revocation of rights to own a pet. Until the lobby for the amendment of the Animal Welfare Act is carried out, PAWS' brave band of volunteers continue to commute to Halls of Justice all over the country to make sure that animal offenders are tried in court and convicted.

Finally, we would like to give everyone a happy piece of news: "Tambucho"-killing has been deleted (please see full article below). Our collective voices do achieve results for the animals.

We need your continued support to help speak for voiceless animals. Please consider making a donation to help us file cases against animal cruelty.  Legal cases can drag on for a minimum of  one year to as long as four years  (and still counting, in the case of our court battle vs Danny Sy Tan et.al for the dogfight case).

You can donate online by clicking on this link: http://www.paws.org.ph/site/540/default.aspx.   Clicking on the monthly donation button would be better as it would enable us to plan our projects for the long-term.

Thanking you in advance in behalf of the animals,

 

 

Anna H. Cabrera

Executive Director

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society