Please visit and sign to help stop the dog meat trade in the Philippines.  Those who sign will be supporting a House Bill currently pending in Congress to impose stiffer penalties against the dog meat traders.  It is urgent that we obtain, at a minimum, 50,000 signatures by April 30, 2007.  Elections will be held in the Philippines in May 2007, and we want to place an international spotlight and global pressure on the country and its government. 
 
The dog meat trade, once regarded as an infrequent religious practice, has become a commercialized industry that kills over 500,000 dogs a year!  Although dog meat is not eaten by the majority of the Filipino citizens, it is considered a delicacy to certain areas of the country.  The handling, treatment and act of violence to secure and sell dog meat is unimaginable and not for the faint of heart. 
 
Once we obtain the necessary signatures, we will be coordinating with others in the Philippines to bring media attention to the petition and the dog meat trade before the elections on May 14, 2007.
 
It is our hope that this community can rally together and sign the petition.  We ask everyone to sign the petition, post in groups, e-mail friends and create the international public awareness needed to stop this practice.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
http://www.DOGMEATTRADE.com

Dear animal advocate,

On January 12 (in Benguet) and on January 15 (in Manila), there will be public hearings on the draft of Administrative Order on the Use of Animals for Rituals.

For a copy of the said AO, please click on the link below:
http://babybranny.multiply.com/journal/item/6

Administrative Orders are specific guidelines in the implementation of a law – in this case, the Animal Welfare Act. AOs are drafted by the Committee on Animal Welfare (CAW) – of which PAWS is a member.

While PAWS and other animal welfare groups would prefer that no animals are used in rituals, the guidelines have to be set up so that valid tribes of some indigenous people will have humane standards within which they can practice their religious rituals (where animals are used).

The good thing about this is that dog-meat traders can no longer cite rituals and ‘freedom to practice religion’ when they are killing dogs for business because they will have to adhere to standards set forth in the said AO (i.e. tribal leaders and bgy captains are required to submit a report of the ritual to the Regional Animal Welfare Officer)

Still, we would like everyone -especially our volunteer-lawyers – to review the said AO.

Perhaps there are areas for improvement on it in terms of making it work better for animal welfare. Suggestions may be emailed to philpaws@….

All are enjoined to study the AO and attend the public hearing.

For the January 15, 2007 public hearing in Manila, the details are as follows:
Time: 1:00pm
Venue: 2nd floor Animal Feeds Bldg, Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), Visayas Avenue, QC

Thank you.

-The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)