Advocating for animal welfare

While on a weekend stroll in Makati City, I came upon animal feeders for cats strategically placed across a popular shopping mall- a welcome development that I hope can be replicated in other parts of the city, the region and the country.

The strays in this part of the city are lucky that its officials and citizens prioritize animal welfare enough to provide care and shelter. Sadly though, this is not the case for all- many stray cats and dogs still fall victim to cruelty and abuse.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has stated that animal homelessness in the Philippines has reached a crisis point. Data from the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) reveals that there are twelve million stray dogs in the Philippines. A single female cat can be responsible for a feral colony of as many as thirty cats in just one year.

This situation poses as a challenge for animal welfare advocates as stray animals struggle to survive, many impounded animals are euthanized due to limited resources. This also poses a threat to public health due to the increase of risk of rabies infection as well as other diseases that transfer from animals to humans.

I had the chance to discuss this with a colleague-Michelle Caguioa, a staunch animal welfare advocate. According to her, improvement of animal welfare starts with addressing the overpopulation of strays. By doing so, risks of diseases such as rabies will consequently decrease.

In my own way, I decided to support this cause by adopting two stray cats. Unfortunately, individual efforts can only go so far in trying to manage and care for stray cats and dogs if their population continues to grow unchecked.

Animals deserve to live a good life, to experience being cared for. This can happen if they are viewed not as pests, but as pets.

This is a serious concern that our policymakers need to address sooner than later. Critics may argue that there are more pressing issues that this country needs to address and prioritize other than animal welfare. But I believe this also merits attention, especially considering that Filipinos are among the top pet owners in the world. A recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey shows that 64 percent of Filipino households have pets.

Moreover, progress made in the animal welfare space also means improvements in public health conditions. Controlling the growth of stray animal population through neutering consequently minimizes the risk of rabies infections.

Funds allocated for procurement of anti-rabies vaccines will also continue to increase year on year if we do not address the overpopulation of strays. I also hope that through controlling growth of stray population, animal cruelty will be significantly reduced, eventually becoming nonexistent.

All these are easier said than done, but the sooner we act, the sooner positive changes will take effect.

Local government units (LGUs) can jumpstart a collaboration with animal welfare groups to develop information campaigns in their respective areas. They can also implement joint tactics that bring forward advocacies on managing stray overpopulation, such as encouraging adoption and conducting free neutering services.

These information campaigns should emphasize the basics on animal care and promote awareness on the animal welfare law punishments on animal cruelty under said law.

The private sector can also partner with LGUs to support these advocacies by providing resources to various groups or creating their own programs to raise awareness of animal rights.

At the policymaking level, lawmakers should revisit the Animal Welfare Act of 1998 to strengthen it with stricter penalties for animal abuse and cruelty, which will hopefully serve as a deterrent.

Animal welfare is a multi-sectoral issue that should be collectively addressed from the grassroots level to the executive level. As I have said before, a society that is cruel to animals is a broken society, one that lacks decency and good moral order.

Moving forward, may we always be reminded that our treatment of animals mirrors the soul of our nation.