Cebu City vet mulls building pet center

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) is planning to build a two-storey center for animals.

Dr. Pilar Romero, DVMF chief, said the center would accommodate all animals, especially those whose owners are on vacation abroad or out of town.

She said the idea came from a balikbayan in the United States of America.

“If the plan will push through, we will be helping our kababayans as well as securing the animal while their owners are still away para di pud intawon mapabayaan (so the animals could get taken cared of also),” she said.

Romero said that if realized, the center, which would be filled with well-ventilated cages, would be the first of its kind in the country.

She, however, said the building would cost the city millions of pesos and that a lot is not yet available.

In a separate interview, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama supported the idea, and even suggested that the center be placed in an upland barangay.

Meanwhile, Romero told a press conference yesterday that the City is closing two slaughter houses for violating rules on “hygiene and sanitation”.

She did not disclose the names of the slaughterhouses, only that one is in Barangay Talamban while the other is in the south district.

She said the two establishments still failed to comply with a DVMF requirement for them to have separate facilities for animal dressing.

There are 24 private slaughterhouses currently operating in the city.  Earlier, four were ordered closed because of similar violation of cleanliness guidelines. (FREEMAN)