70 rescued dogs to be put down

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is putting to sleep some 70 dogs that were victims of dogfights.

PAWS executive director Ana Cabrera said that they sadly decided to end the suffering of the dogs rescued recently from gambling dens in Laguna.

Last Saturday, 19 of the sick animals were put down. As of 3 p.m. yesterday, an additional 20 dogs had been euthanized. Some of the dogs had ripped ears and tongues from fights. Cabrera said it would be irresponsible to give away animals that have not properly healed.

On Monday, the police filed criminal charges against eight arrested Koreans for operating dogfighting dens in Laguna. The suspects were arrested last week in two separate raids.

More than 300 pitbulls were confiscated in raids in San Pablo and Calauan in the province of Laguna. The dogs were turned over to PAWS.

Cabrera said that prior to their plan to put the canines to sleep, they tried other options such as asking other animal shelters if any of them would be willing to adopt the badly wounded dogs.

But they reportedly got a cold shoulder from all of the shelters.

A woman who owns a property in Marikina said that she was willing to help but she could only accommodate 30 dogs.

Cabrera admitted that they were forced to euthanize the animals primarily because of “security issues,” but clarified that it was their last resort.

They also did not want to just give out the dogs for adoption because it raised the risk that they would be returned to dogfighting syndicates and again be subjected to torture.

Laguna Police director Gilbert Cruz earlier said that the Koreans, who were allegedly running the dogfighting dens in San Pablo City and Calauan, were the same group who were arrested in Indang, Cavite last Dec. 3.

Cabrera said that the dogs were placed in the care of a government veterinarian when they were first rescued in Cavite. But since the local government could not afford to take care of the canines, they were given to people willing to take them in.

However, three months later, the dogs reportedly ended up in the hands of the same dogfighting syndicate, who transferred their operations from Cavite to Laguna.

Cabrera said they were afraid that if they put the dogs through another adoption process, they might end up in another clandestine operation.

She said this was not the first time that dogs were euthanized. Hundreds of dogs are put down in various city pounds in a month.

The PAWS official also gave assurance that the dogs were put down in a gentle and humane manner. Before being put to sleep, the dogs are allowed to have a short walk around the two-hectare property, then fed with treats and given a belly rub.

“After that, a PAWS veterinarian would inject them with sodium pentobarbital that would make them sleepy, then their heartbeat would slow down, they would become unconscious then their heartbeat would stop. This would all happen in a span of less than 60 seconds. They would die in the arms of a PAWS volunteer,” Cabrera added.

The PAWS would have wanted to transfer the dogs to a two-hectare property being run by the organization, but this is not always feasible.

Koreans face deportation

Meanwhile, the police are seeking the deportation of the eight Koreans.

Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Director Samuel Pagdilao Jr. also asked the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to issue hold departure orders against Lee Gwi Woo, 21; Jeong Yeon Hwal, 31; Noh Min Chul, 44; Lee Kyung Won, 31; Kim Young Hwan, 29; Hyun Ho Han, 45; Hong Jeong Oh, 43; and Kim Do Kyung, 41; to prevent them from fleeing the country while trial is ongoing.

Pagdilao said the CIDG is also looking forward to the eventual deportation of the eight Koreans immediately after serving their sentence following their conviction for being undesirable aliens.

During the initial investigation, Senior Superintendent Joel Napoleon Coronel, chief of the CIDG national capital region, said the eight Koreans also failed to show travel documents.

Coronel said that aside from Hong Jeong Oh and Kim Do Kyung, the remaining suspects have been previously arrested for the same offense after the CIDG raided a pitbull arena in Indang, Cavite last year.

Last Friday, elements of CIDG-NCR led by Chief Inspector Rey Magdaluyo, together with local police in Laguna, simultaneously raided a dog-breeding farm in Barangay San Gregorio Purok 3, San Pablo City and a dogfight arena in Barangay Limao, Calauan, Laguna that resulted in the arrest of the suspects, the rescue of some 300 pitbulls and the confiscation of millions of pesos worth of equipment used in the operation of online pitbull fight gambling. – Ed Amoroso, Non Alquitran, AP