HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Dog Meat Trade in the
Philippines: How Did It Start?
The dog meat trade in the
Philippines evolved into a commercial venture in the
past 20 years. By commercial venture we mean, dog meat
is openly sold at various public wet markets; dog meat
is in the menus of various eateries and restaurants; and
live dogs are openly butchered in slaughterhouses
(albeit, illegally operating).
Before its
commercialization, the natives of Baguio City, and the
rest of the Cordilleras (the various Igorot tribes),
have been eating dog meat. This practice has a spiritual
significance. In their belief, when bad luck strikes in
the family, or in the clan, the family dog should be
sacrificed, and the family members should partake of the
dog meat. The significance of the practice is that the
spirit of the sacrificed family dog, being their guard
dog, will also guard and protect the souls and spirits
of the living members of the family. The family dog
should also be sacrificed when a member of the family
witnesses a murder or an accident. The practice, called
“Begnas” by some of the Cordillera tribes, is
now seldom being done.
With the passing of time,
when more and more members of the family or the clan are
faced with more bad luck and accidents, and the family
did not have enough family dogs to be sacrificed, some
people resorted to buying their neighbor’s dogs, thus
the start of the commercialization.
Others claim that dog meat
eating has become a culture among Igorot tribes
(although the Ilocanos from the Ilocos provinces also
eat dog meat). However, a lot of Igorots refuse to
accept this, as a lot of them also do not eat dog meat,
and are themselves dog lovers.
Dog meat eating has just
become so popular starting in the 80’s (especially among
the drinking crowd) when restaurants serving dog meat
dishes started to sprout in Baguio City.
Despite the passing of
Republic Act 8485 (otherwise known as the
Animal
Welfare Act) in 1998, making the dog meat trade
illegal, the dog traders still continued with their
trade. The dog slaughterhouses, the restaurants serving
dog meat, still continue to operate, and dog meat are
still sold in public markets.
A Result of a Cycle of
Problems
Several factors contributed
to the growth of the illegal dog meat trade in the
Philippines. One is the economic slump in the
Philippines and in the Asian Region in general. Another
is the increased demand for dog meat. Still another is
the low cost of dog meat.
In the Philippines, almost
every family has a dog or two as guards and pets.
Raising dogs is not actually burdensome to a Filipino
family as the dogs subsist on the family’s table scraps.
Dogs easily reproduce, so that stray dogs are in
abundance in the country.
The dog population
continues to grow. Spaying/neutering is still not a
common practice in the country. Dog owners in the lower
economic strata cannot afford to go to a veterinarian
for spaying and neutering. Thus the concerned government
offices just have to continue with their daily catching
of stray dogs, and placing them in crowded dog pounds.
At this point, it is
unrealistic to expect the Philippine government to be
able to do something to improve the conditions of the
country’s dog pounds. Dog adoption (for stray dogs) is
not common in the Philippines, as most often, those who
may want to raise dogs prefer to get a puppy, than an
adult one, more so a stray.
The demand for dog meat in
the open market continues to grow. One reason for the
high demand is the low selling price. Compared to pork
or beef which is being sold at (Php105.00 to Php150.00
(US$2.1 to US$3.001) per kilogram respectively. Dog meat
can be bought for as low as Php65.00 (US$1.30) per
kilogram. Restaurants and eateries serving dog meat also
offer dog meat dishes (as their specialty dish!) for a
lower price compared to other dishes. An observation is
that those who frequent the restaurants and eateries
serving dog meat are the drinking crowd. Dog meat is
being served as pulutan (appetizers) and served
with beer or hard drinks. For a frequent drinker, they
can save by having a dog meat dish.
And why is dog meat priced
low? It is because the traders have minimal capital for
live dogs, and because of the ready supply. Dogs being
sold at Baguio City and Cordilleras (where the market
is) come from as far as the Southern Tagalog provinces,
Visayas and Mindanao.
The traders do not even
have to raise the dogs themselves, as all they have to
do is hire individuals who will catch stray dogs at
night, keep them in cages, and transport them to where
the market is. It is much easier and profitable for them
to catch stray dogs than to enter into an economic
enterprise of raising hogs, chickens etc…
Simply put, it is a matter
of economics vis-ŕ-vis an evolved supply and demand
situation brought about by low supply cost.
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Facts and Figures
Fact No. 1
– Dog meat is openly traded in Baguio City and the
Cordilleras in the Philippines. Around a hundred
eateries and restaurants in the area are openly serving
dog meat to their customers.
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The “Ulo”
referred to in the above photo is the head
of the dog. Right photo shows how it is
served
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Uncooked dog
meat is openly sold in the wet markets at
Php65.00 (US$1.40) per kilogram.
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Fact No. 2
– The supply of dog meat comes from all over the
country. Live dogs are being transported by land, kept
in cramped cages (most often, their muzzles are tightly
tied to prevent them from making noise), bearing the
heat of the sun for days, until they reach the illegal
slaughterhouses located in various areas in Baguio City
and the Cordillera provinces. Those that cannot bear the
ordeal die along the way, and most often, end up “double
dead”, as some unscrupulous traders butcher even the
dead dogs and pass them on to unsuspecting customers.
Fact No. 3
– The suffering of dogs continue up to their last
breath. Below is the sequence of the brutality they are
subjected to.
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a. Using a looped pole, the dog is pulled from
the cramped cage. The butcher hits the dog in
the head several times, using a hard object,
usually a wooden paddle, until the dog drops
unconscious
b. Using a sharp knife, the butcher slashes the
dog’s throat, making sure to hit the dog’s
jugular vein, and lets the blood ooze out. The
blood is collected in a bowl, as this is also
sold. |
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c. The dog’s body is then placed over the fire
to burn its fur.
e. Depending on the request of the customer(s),
the dog carcass is sold in whole, with just the
intestines removed and cleaned; or, the butcher
chops the body and sells it retail (by the
kilogram) at the public markets.
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Fact No. 4 – The Philippines, in February 1998,
passed Republic Act 8485 otherwise known as the
Animal
Welfare Act, but this law is being poorly
implemented. One reason for the poor implementation is
that some, if not most of the top local officials
themselves are dog eaters. The illegal dog meat trade
has developed over the last 20 years into huge trade.
There has been no political will for its active
eradication and implementation of the law. In the
Philippines, unless there is a complaint, and enough
logistics, the law enforcers will not move.
Fact No. 5
– In Baguio City the dog pound dispose of
unclaimed/captured stray dogs through public bidding.
However, anyone (even the dog traders and dog eaters)
can join and buy the dogs, as the dog pound does not
bother to determine the purpose of the buyers. They just
don’t care even if the dogs end up in dog
slaughterhouses. Another disturbing fact is, just beside
the dog pound, is a place where some traders butcher
dogs.
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The facade of the
slaughterhouse beside the City Veterinary
Office(left) and the City’s Dog pound (right),
where some unscrupulous individuals have the
dogs [bought from the pound] butchered. Seen in
the right photo is the distance between the City
Veterinary Office [which is on the left side]
and the slaughterhouse [on the right side]. |
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Extent of the Trade
A Multimillion Dollar
Business
It is estimated that around
290,000 dogs are being killed for food in the
Philippines every year. This is translated to
approximately 174 Million Pesos (or US$3.8M) a year
worth of livelihood and industry for those involved in
the dog meat trade.
Already on its third
decade, and with the support and patronage of local
officials, this illegal trade cannot be stopped
overnight.
With the passing of the
Animal
Welfare Act in 1998, there is now a law in which to
base the prosecution of those who maltreat animals (for
our purpose, dogs). Section 6 of the law, prohibits
killing of dogs, except on
7 grounds, among them for religious purposes.
Implementing the law is
also easier said than done. It is a fact that there are
many laws in the Philippines that are being taken for
granted or are not being implemented at all. The Animal
Welfare Act, which is relatively new in the country, is
one of them.
In Baguio City and La
Trinidad (Benguet) alone, there are around 60
restaurants, eateries and canteens serving dog meat.
These are located all over the city including the
central business district, and are being patronized by
no less than the local politicians, heads of government
offices, policemen, and even professionals.
In the Baguio City public
market, 3 stalls in the meat section were found to be
selling dog meat. While three vendors were arrested on
June 23, 2003 through the initiative of a lady
expatriate, Blythe Reed, the selling still continues and
the arrest did not have a deterrent effect at all.
In La Trinidad, uncooked
dog meat is also being sold in a meat store just below
the Provincial Capitol. This is aside from several food
outlets (eateries) serving dog meat dishes.
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Government Efforts
Police and Law Enforcement
Compared to other laws
(like the anti-gambling law, the anti-piracy law, etc.)
the law enforcers do not conduct specific operations for
the implementation of the Animal Welfare Act.
Since the passage of the
law in 1998, most of the raid and apprehensions were
initiated by NGOs (non-government organizations). The
Regional Traffic Management Office (RTMO)–Cordillera
(formerly known as the Traffic Management Group), which
is a branch of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in a
few instances, while in the performance of their routine
vehicular checks encountered dog traders in their
attempt to transport dogs to Baguio City and Benguet
province. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group
(CIDG), another branch of the PNP, has been tapped by a
non-profit group, the Political Animal Lobby (PAL) to
implement the law. There were also a few instances when
the CIDG in Camp Crame (PNP Headquarters), by chance,
had encountered and apprehended dog traders en route to
Baguio City and Benguet. Furthermore, the Special
Operations Group - Jericho, of the Department of
Interior and Local Government (DILG), whose main
function is to enforce the anti-illegal gambling law,
has also been tapped by another non-profit group, the
International Wildlife Coalition (IWC)- UK, which later
on formed a local group with the name Animal Kingdom
Foundation to perform the same function.
Linis Gobyerno, on the
other hand, in their independent drive against the dog
meat trade preferred to coordinate with the National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which is under the
Department of Justice (DOJ).
The experience of an
expatriate with the Baguio City Police Office of the
PNP, is very disheartening. Ms. Blythe Reed*, on May
2003 had seen for herself the blatant selling of dog
meat at the city’s public market. Right then and there
she proceeded to the Baguio City Police Office, which is
located within the vicinity. While reporting the
incident, a policeman told her that Baguio City is
exempt from the Animal Welfare Act. But when Ms. Reed
asked the police to show her where in the law does it
say that Baguio City is exempt, the police said that he
has not read the Animal Welfare Act yet. She related
that the policemen were taking the issue as a laughing
matter. By June, Ms. Reed went back to the police, armed
with a copy of the Animal Welfare Act which she has
downloaded from the internet, and demanded for the
arrest of the people selling dog meat at the public
market. Despite the arrest, as of August, 2003, the dog
meat selling in the public market still continues.
* ( Blythe Reed is an American living in Baguio City. She does her part for the fight against the dog trade by personally
filing cases against dog meat vendors. Ms. Blythe, a dog lover herself, is the wife of an executive in one of the top
multinational firms based in this city.)
Another disheartening fact
is that the location of the illegal dog slaughterhouses,
the selling in the public market, and the presence of
restaurants serving dog meat is an open knowledge in
Baguio City and La Trinidad, Benguet. As a matter of
fact, one identified dog slaughterhouse located at Camp
6, Tuba, Benguet, is very near a police outpost. There
were information that the said slaughterhouse is
actually owned by a Police Colonel. The members of the
police force are among those who patronize the joints
serving dog meat.
Now in its 6th year, there
is no serious implementation of the law.
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Prosecution
From 1998, the records of
the Prosecutor's Office of Baguio and Benguet reveal a
total of 19 cases of violation of the Animal Welfare Act
in Baguio City and Benguet Province, 5 of which were
filed before the Baguio City Municipal Trial Courts
(MTC), 8 cases before the La Trinidad Municipal Trial
Court (MTC), and 6 were filed before the Sablan-Tuba
Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC). The cases involved
a total of 37 respondents, some of them, 7 are repeat
offenders. On the other hand, of the 19 cases, 3 were
dismissed; the respondents in 12 of cases entered a plea
of guilty upon arraignment (thus were convicted); while
the rest of the cases are still undergoing court trial
as of August 15, 2003.
The cases stemmed either as
a result of a raid, or the respondents were apprehended
by chance while in the act of transporting dogs. Of all
the cases, only 2 have private individuals as
complainants. The first one was the one filed by Linis
Gobyerno members, headed by its Executive Director,
Freddie J. Farres; and the other was the one personally
filed by Ms. Blythe Reed. Both cases are being heard
before the Baguio City MTCs.
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Deterrent Effect
Despite all the arrests,
and raids conducted, the dog traders did not budge. It
appears that these police operations seem to have little
deterrent effect. As a matter of fact, the arrest and
apprehensions, can become a source of corruption among
the police and the judiciary.
Further, the dog traders
would rather enter a plea of guilty. Doing so, they will
just be meted a fine (minimum penalty), which would cost
less than hiring a lawyer to defend their case.
And while some were already
convicted or have cases on going, the traders are back
to their usual business. The Comiles Restaurant (which
operates a chain of dog serving restaurants), for
example, was not affected at all by the on-going case
they are facing).
The slaughterhouses, on the
other hand, who are more careful now, are still
operating, violating several other laws, other than the
Animal Welfare Act.
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The Role of Local
Government
The Local Government (from
the barangay up to the municipal, city, and provincial
level) has a big role in the proper implementation of
the Animal Welfare Act. This is contrary to the common
notion that law enforcement is left in the hands of the
police.
On July 14, 2000, the
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) under
then Secretary Alfredo Lim, issued Memorandum Circular
2000-91 directing all Local Chief Executives “to
undertake concrete steps to help promote and support
animal welfare in their jurisdictions”.
Despite the law and the
DILG’s directive, Baguio and the rest of the Cordillera
region are yet to craft their local version of the
Animal Welfare Act.
Baguio City, as far back as
1934 has already come up with an Ordinance (Ordinance
numbered 500-34) in relation to animals (some provisions
of which are the prohibition of animals in public
places, the establishment of animal pound, and
penalties). There are provisions, however, in this
ordinance which are no longer applicable, (as a matter
of fact, most of it are not being implemented) thus, in
2000, the Baguio City Council amended the said ordinance
particularly that which concerns dogs. This led to the
creation of Ordinance Numbered 025 series of 2000.
While this Ordinance can be
said to be good enough, it did not take into
consideration the newly passed law in 1998, the Animal
Welfare Act. It does not prohibit cruelty, and dog meat
eating. As a matter of fact, the said Ordinance allows
euthanasia, whereas the Animal Welfare Act did not
specify whether euthanasia is allowed. It only mentioned
of “the most scientific method” of killing animals,
which is “to be determined by the Commission on Animal
Welfare”. As of 2002, the Department of Agriculture,
which is supposed to head the Committee on Animal
Welfare said that it has not determined yet what that
“most scientific method” is.
This City Ordinance also
transferred the operation of the Dog Pound, from the
police to the City Veterinarian. The Ordinance required
for the dog owners to register and tag their dogs.
However, only the portions which provide for the
catching of stray dogs, collection of impounding fees
and allowing the sale of dogs thru public auction, are
the ones being implemented.
In 1991, the City Council,
through the motion of then Councilor Mauricio Domogan
(now Congressman), in a way legalized the selling of dog
meat in the city. This is through the Ordinance Numbered
69 series of 1991 entitled “An ordinance amending
Ordinance No. 104 series of 1949, regulating the
business of dealing in dogs and the sale of meat thereof
in the City of Baguio”. This Ordinance, is still not
amended or repealed. Although there is no designated
area for the selling of dog meat in the City Market, 3
or 4 stalls in the meat section are openly selling dog
meat, with valid business permits at that.
The local government of the
province of Benguet is slowly coming up with their own
version of the law.
In May 3, 2003, the
Municipality of Tuba came up with their Municipal
Ordinance No. 08 series of 2003 requiring all dog owners
to have their dogs vaccinated. As Tuba is the first
municipality of Benguet in which dog traders will have
to pass through in going to Baguio City and Benguet’s
capital town, La Trinidad, the same ordinance requires
that dogs and animals being transported or shipped thru
any point of their municipality should be in cages with
ample ventilation and space.
In Barangay Pico of La
Trinidad, Benguet, on July 12, 2003, they came up with
Barangay Ordinance Numbered 05 series of 2003, also
requiring all dog owners to have their dogs vaccinated.
It also requires proper dog management and humane
treatment of dogs as provided for in the Animal Welfare
Act of 1998.
In all the existing local
laws, they do not specifically prohibit dog eating.
And while the DILG
specifically mandates the local government to apprehend
and prosecute those engaged in the illegal trading of
animals (dogs included), we have not heard of local
government efforts to implement this directive. Worse,
the local government leaders are themselves patronizing
the joints (restaurants) serving dog meat, and even give
them business permits.
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The Role of Non-Government
Organizations
In the Philippine setting,
the non-government organizations (NGOs) have a very
important role to play.
It is a fact that
corruption is embedded in the Philippine government
system.
It is also a fact that the
government is cash-strapped so that the private sector
(the non-profit organizations) have to fill in the gap.
The NGOs then are left to do the functions that the
government cannot accomplish.
One is the implementation
of the Animal Welfare Act. While the government has all
the resources for it- politics, corruption, and lack of
interest hamper the full implementation of the law. NGOs
help and pressure the concerned government agencies to
do their job.
In relation to the Animal
Welfare Act, 4 groups are known to be operating for its
implementation. The first one to come in is a foreign
group, the Political Animal Lobby (PAL). This was
followed by the International Wildlife Coalition of the
United Kingdom (IWC-UK). Then the local group (Baguio
City based) Linis Gobyerno, Inc. came in; which was
followed by another local group (Manila based), Animal
Kingdom Foundation, which is an off-shoot of the IWC-UK.
Political Animal Lobby
(PAL)
The Philippine
representative of PAL, (a UK based organization) claim
to be operating in the country even before the passage
of the Animal Welfare Act. However, records obtained
indicate that the group started helping in the
implementation of the Animal Welfare Act on September of
2000, three years after the creation of the law.
While there were arrests
done by local police on traders transporting dogs, PAL
started the raid on slaughterhouses. However, their
first job was highly criticized because they (together
with tapped law enforcers) allegedly did not observe the
rules during the raid. It was alleged that they swooped
into the known dog slaughterhouse, armed with cameras
and media in tow, and without a search warrant or
warrant of arrest, arrested a person who was not caught
in the act of slaughtering a dog. They even implicated a
person who was not at the place at that time. This was
the first case filed before the La Trinidad MTC. It was
dismissed. Locals perceived PAL’s actuation as a move
“for show”.
The group became active
again in the year 2002. This time, they were more
cautious and careful.
However, it was observed
that they are just concerned with highly publicized
arrests. The group, after the arrest, turned over the
dogs to the already crowded Baguio City Dog Pound, and
their job ended there. They are not involved in the
prosecution, they do not exert effort to see through the
welfare of the recovered dogs.
In an interview with the
Baguio City Veterinarian Brigit Piok, who manages the
dog pound, said that PAL, every time they turn over
dogs, make it a point to donate soap, disinfectants,
rice and sardines. She however cannot quantify the
donations. This makes the locals wonder why PAL gives
rice and sardines, and not dog food and some vitamins
and medicines for the sick dogs. Are the donations meant
for the dog pound staff and not for the dogs? Why give
sardines to the sick dogs? This may just worsen their
already failing health.
While the City Veterinarian
also claims that PAL helped fix some cages in the dog
pound, again, she cannot quantify the “help” extended.
Further, PAL or any of its
representatives never came forward to be the
complainants in the cases filed against the dog traders
they have apprehended. Simply put, they left the law
enforcers in the cold, that is, after they got what they
wanted – photos and video footages of the grim situation
of dogs at the time of the arrest.
It is also a wonder why
PAL, a well-funded group did not care to put up a dog
shelter for the recovered dogs.
Still, it is also a wonder
why PAL, a known lobbyist, does not push for the
amendment of the law for stiffer penalties, and push for
the immediate creation of the Committee on Animal
Welfare as provided for in the law. Surely, these are
easy stuff for them. But why are they not doing it? Are
they really serious in putting a stop to the trade? Or
are they just using the Philippine situation for their
“campaign” in the US and Europe?
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International Wildlife
Coalition (IWC) of the United Kingdom
This is the second foreign
group that tried to make use of the Philippine situation
to solicit funds.
It is this group, headed by
Charles Wartenberg, which initially hired The Junction
newspaper and Linis Gobyerno to conduct a research on
the dog meat trade situation.
At first, we thought Mr.
Wartenberg was for real. However, his real color
surfaced when he unceremoniously started killing the
recovered dogs, disregarding existing Philippine laws
and rules.
This group did not gain
ground, as The Junction and Linis Gobyerno did not
hesitate to file a
case against Wartenberg and his cohorts for the
violation of the same law which they claim to be
implementing.
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Animal Kingdom Foundation
This is an off-shoot of the
IWC-UK. It claims that it is a local group, (being
locally organized). However, it is formed by the very
same group composed of the IWC-UK in the Philippines.
Mr. Wartenberg is part of them, and allegedly still the
one calling the shots.
The system being used by
this group is very similar to that of IWC-UK. Though
they do not kill the dogs, they do not turn them over to
the nearest dog pound either. Also, evidences are not
turned over to the local courts and authorities. A bit
high handed at that.
And like PAL, they are not
actively involved in the prosecution. And again like
PAL, leave everything to the government after they get
photos of the grim plight of dogs in the country.
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Linis Gobyerno
Linis Gobyerno started with
this advocacy when the group was hired by IWC-UK. It was
then that our eyes were opened to situation and the
sickening truth.
And while the above
mentioned groups are active in the raids and arrests,
Linis Gobyerno took the other route. While arrests may
have a big impact to donors with a heart for dogs, Linis
Gobyerno decided to take things in stride, to
comprehensively approach the problem, and immersed
themselves in the community where the problem is at its
worst.
Linis Gobeyrno decided to
embark on proper research documentation, information
dissemination, lobbying, and practically filling in the
gap left by the government and the other groups. Linis
Gobyerno decided to start on a dog shelter, actively
monitor the cases filed, and exert some pressure on the
judges and government prosecutors and the local
officials to do their job.
Arresting the offenders is
among the easiest thing to do, and the most dramatic one
at that. Yet, what comes after is the bigger problem.
What do you do with the dogs? How do you make sure they
won’t end up back to the slaughterhouses?
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