Government unleashes plan to stop dog meat trade

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture is developing a national plan of action to put an end to the horribly cruel and illegal dog meat trade which continues to flourish despite being banned in the country since 1998.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has signed a new Administrative Circular, calling for a national plan of action to stop hundreds of thousands of defenseless dogs from being snatched and slaughtered.

The newly signed circular is intended to ensure that only food animals will be made available to the people and effective enforcement of the laws that prevent the trade of dog meat in the country.

Dog meat is not among the food animals mentioned in RA 9296 or the Meat Inspection Code in the Philippines.

The circular calls for a 2015-2020 Philippine Action Plan on Dog Meat Elimination to address policies and legal basis deficiencies, lack of awareness and to promote education and capability building. It also facilitates implementation, identifies budgetary requirements and other logistical support towards plan implementation and program sustainability.

The plan is in line with the government’s goal of a rabies-free Philippines by 2020.

Under the circular, the Bureau of Animal Industry  and Department of Agriculture is authorized to use their annual appropriations to implement the approved Action Plan for animal welfare and anti-rabies campaign.

The National Meat Inspection Service is also tasked with curbing illegal dog meat trade in the country.

Dog meat traders are capitalizing on poverty as dog meat is cheaper than pork, beef and chicken.

About half a million of dogs are killed in the Philippines in the illegal dog meat trade.

In Asia, over 18 million dogs are killed for human consumption annually. It is estimated that as much as 20 million dogs are consumed annually in China,  five million in Vietnam, two million in South Korea.