City may ban use of cruel mode in animal slaughter

Butchers and their helpers will be soon banned from using methods in slaughtering animals that are deemed cruel, such as tingal or oral forced drenching.

This was the gist of a proposed ordinance that councilor Christopher Alix had recently filed to amend some provisions in the city's existing rules and regulations governing the activities of butchers and helpers in slaughtering of animals.

Alix, market and abattoir committee chairman, found out earlier that one of the methods employed in slaughtering animals in the city abattoir is oral forced drenching, commonly known as tingal, prompting him to file a measure that would stop this cruel way of slaughtering.

Tingal is a Cebuano term for oral forced drenching, which refers to the act of forcing water through the mouth of an animal for slaughter to increase the body weight of the animal and result in bloating and eventual suffocation.

"This is a form of cruelty and against the law," said Alix citing Republic Act 8485, or the Animal Welfare Law of 1998, which prohibits and penalizes cruel forms of slaughtering animals, one of which is oral forced drenching.

Alix said there was an agreement between the city veterinarian and animal traders to stop the practice but this has been grossly ignored to the detriment of meat consumers.

Alix incorporated in his proposed measure the punishable acts, including the bringing in of bloated slaughtered animals, display of overhead plastic water containers used to force water into the mouth of the animal, and placing hose or tube into the mouth of the animal.

Penalties for violators are the confiscation of butchers' and helpers' identification cards issued by the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (for the first offense), ban from entering the premises of the abattoir and indictment in court (for the second and third offense, respectively).

In a related development, city veterinarian Alice Utlang reminded butchers and abattoir workers of City Ordinance No. 1644, which requires them to be duly registered with the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries, and to submit health cards and police clearances as a requirement in obtaining their respective IDs.

Utlang added that her office has planned to conduct a seminar for butchers and cleaners as another requirement for obtaining registration and license. - Garry B. Lao