79 Dog Carcasses Confiscated!

Animal Kingdom Foundation, Inc.

by: Mona Sabalones Gonzalez

This is not a pleasant picture to start off with, but it brings to light the sad reality of dog abuse in some parts of the Philippines.

Askals are beautiful dogs. I have two of them, and what makes them stand out is that they have such interesting personalities. Ashley is my favorite. She is loving, friendly, never bites anyone, is a catcher and always makes me laugh. When I'm sad, Ashley makes me forget everything because she herself is so uncomplicated. My second askal, Winniechurchill (named after my favorite Political hero) is more like a person. When I'm sad she will force me to look her in the eye, like she knows something's up and I end up waterfalling. Winnie is always neat and clean and perfect, tiny but the alpha dog. My third dog is a Schnoxie (mini schnauzer mini doxin) and still a pup. Her personality is still forming but she is cute. [Continued]

STORMS IN THE PHILIPPINES: OUR RESCUE CENTRE SUFFERS DAMAGE

I arrived in the Philippines the very day after the first typhoon hit the Philippines. Our rescue centre, being just that bit north of Manila, caught the full force of the storm. Fortunately we escaped without any injuries to either our staff or the dogs; the wind did the main damage by blowing down fifteen of our very big mango trees. These crashed down onto fences which hold the dogs into their pens, causing a hundred plus dogs to be running around everywhere. Also the trees flattened dog shelters which give shelter to the dogs from the sun and the rain. Plus of course, we will now lose the revenue from being able to sell the mangos, an income we have grown to rely upon.

The land drains which we put in 2 to 3 years ago worked really well; these drains carried the water away depositing it into the river 500 feet away. I dread to think what it would have been like if we’d had to suffer the flooding. Needless to say, we still had plenty of mud - it was quite impossible to get off totally free. We now have contractors in, repairing the damage and making improvements; we learn as we go along that there is always something we could have done better.

At the time of the storm and at this present time, we have close to 400 rescued dogs in our centre and right now everything is back under control. I think, at the time, the dogs were quite happy - climbing up fallen trees and jumping over broken fences. I’m happy to say the other four typhoons that followed did not cause us any real problems, just plenty of rain.

Now for the real problem that does truly exist - the new Anti Rabies law which came into force over a year ago. As you will all be aware, this law introduced new severe penalties for dog traders - a £50 fine for each and every dog they are caught with, together with one to four years imprisonment. You would be forgiven for thinking, ‘That’s wonderful’. Yes, it would be wonderful if only the law was being enforced - but it is not.

Up to now dog traders are still being charged under the old Animal Welfare law and getting away with a £20/£30 fine. It is now eleven years since I started this work in the Philippines. At that time the old law had just been introduced and, as we all know, it has not deterred the dog traders. We desperately need to get this new legislation to be fully enforced. We do have the police on our side but the problem lays with the Justice Department. Believe me, I am doing everything I can think of to try and move this forward; it is not easy. Right now I have enlisted the help of an Animal Welfare organisation in New Zealand called Sirus. As far as I am aware this is the only animal welfare organisation in the world to have United Nations status. Through Sirus we are engaging with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food & Agriculture Office (FAO). Of course, we are climbing all over the Department of Health in the Philippines as well. The position is that the new Anti Rabies law (albeit that it has stiff penalties for trading in dogs) is actually aimed at saving humans from rabies and other diseases that are contractable through eating dogs. This does present a very serious risk to public health as hygiene in the world of dog trading simply does not exist. Hundreds if not thousands of people will get food poisoning, E.Coli and, in some cases, Rabies. Making this a public health issue is, in my view, giving us our best chance of forcing the Justice Department into action. [Continued]

GASSING DOGS TO DEATH

The Great Human-Growth Hormone Hoax