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It’s been said that the level of civilization in a country may be accurately judged by how it treats its animals. Indeed, in this neck of the woods where the nouveau riche purchase Hermes bags as one of the necessary steps to complete their makeover, dogs are still routinely rounded up or stolen to be slaughtered for food served in eateries in the north, and stray cats are run over and killed in imaginative ways just for the fun of it. (In a shocking example of ignorance and cruel intentions, a student of the University of the Philippines once bragged online about how he had tortured a cat and ultimately ended its misery by jumping on it. He is said to have mended his ways, but his case shows that a UP education is not always a guarantee against stupidity.)
RA 8485 covers the protection and promotion of the welfare of all animals in the country. It was enacted in 1998 but judging from the way household animals continue to be maltreated and wondrous creatures such as dolphins are killed for sport or food, a great number of Filipinos are unaware of it—or, worse, don’t give a damn. Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy has filed House Bill No. 5849 seeking to increase the prison term imposed on violators of RA 8485 to 6-12 years and the corresponding bail to P50,000. It’s a move that demands the backing of thinking Filipinos, and PAWS’ Cabrera has appealed to the Aquino administration to make it a priority bill.
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