“This is a groundbreaking case and establishes a legal precedence since this is the first time that we won a jail sentence under the Anti-Rabies Law and the Consumer Act,” lawyer Heidi Marquez-Caguioa, Animal Kingdom Foundation legal officer, said in a statement.
Four men are in jail today for their illegal trade in dog meat according to Animal welfare advocates in the Philippines. Judge Mia Joy Cawed, of the Baguio family court, sentenced Demetrio Palawi, Rogelio Miana, Jun Jun Bugayong and Marlon Barte to a year in prison and fined them P300,000. The court imposed the minimum penalty in this case after all 4 men admitted their guilt. They were arrested in November last year while transporting 30 dogs, which were already slaughtered and prepared for selling to local traders and eateries offering dog meat dishes. Charges against another accused, a male teenager, were dismissed because he is a minor. But the court asked the municipal social welfare and development office in his area to monitor him and ensure that he will not break the law again.
Dog meat trade was banned in the country in 1998 and most people in the Philippines do not eat dog meat any longer especially those in the big cities. While the welfare of dogs might not be to our liking this is a huge step in the right direction considering how poor the country as a whole is. Dog tends to be a source of protein only in very poor areas so for a court victory like this one hopefully it means more economic stability for the region as a whole. College educated women from the Philippines will leave the country to work as nanny’s for children in Hong Kong because even at the minimum allowable wage and compensation package for a nanny in Hong Kong they make at least double what they can make in their own country.
For more information http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/33611/court-sends-dog-meat-traders-to-jail
