What We Are Doing on the Dog Meat Trade
Network for Animals has been working since 1998 on a number of fronts to put a final end to the dog meat trade. Read to find out what we are doing.
Enforcement - Currently, the Philippines National Police and local authorities do little to enforce anti dog meat legislation and in fact many police and government officials in the Northern provinces eat dog meat themselves. Thus, Network has brought together a dedicated team of informants, policemen, veterinarians and pound personnel to track, apprehend and prosecute dog meat traders. Despite the dangerous and challenging nature of this work, we have made tremendous progress in reducing the numbers of dogs abused and killed by this cruel industry as follows:
* Over 3000 dogs rescued
* 118 dog meat traders prosecuted, 86 convicted
* 26 dog slaughterhouses closed
* 21 live animal markets selling dogs closed
In the near future, in partnership with the National Meat Inspection Service, Network will embark on a new program to raid illegal dog meat restaurants and close them down.
Legislative Change - Current Philippines legislation banning the dog meat trade is inadequate in that the penalties are minimal. However, due to intensive lobbying by Network and other animal protection NGOs, the Philippine congress recently drafted and approved a bill (the Rabies Act) that will dramatically strengthen the penalties associated with trading in dog meat. Armed with this improved legislation, Network will work even harder to bring dog meat traders to justice.
Education - Educating the public about the inherent animal welfare concerns and health risks associated with processing and consuming dog meat (such as rabies transmission) is an important activity that can slow consumer demand for dog meat. Network regularly solicits television stations and newspapers to cover the dog meat trade issue, thereby reaching hundreds of thousands of people with our message of compassion. Additionally, we print and distribute educational leaflets and posters in dog meat eating areas, give presentations to veterinarians, schools and civic groups, and when funding allows, run advertisements in newspapers.
Local Ordinances - Local ordinances outlawing certain aspects of the dog meat trade can be effective regulatory tools, with local government invested in enforcing laws that they themselves have drafted. Network encourages and works with municipal governments to enact and enforce local ordinances targeting the dog meat trade.
Funding local animal shelters - The Philippines is the only country in SE Asia that doesn't provide government funding for spay-neuter programs, and overpopulation of stray dogs has become a major problem that allows the dog meat trade to proliferate. Consequently, the task of combating domestic animal overpopulation has fallen to the non-profit sector. Network funds and assists local shelters that implement spay-neuter programs and find caring homes for stray animals. The funding we provide goes towards the purchase of medications, veterinary care, printing educational literature and dog food. Additionally, Network is in the process of setting up a dog shelter in central Manila. This shelter will rehabilitate and re-home dogs seized from dog meat traders and offer low cost spay-neuter, rabies vaccinations and other veterinary services to underprivileged companion animal owners.
