MANILA, Philippines — Actress and animal welfare advocate Carla Abellana reiterated her call to stop pitting animals against each for sport.
Abellana reposted on her Instagram account a graphic art by the Animal Kingdom Foundation showing two horses performing violence against one another for entertainment purposes.
"I’ve been desperate to speak against horse fighting (and since been actively campaigning against ALL other types of animal fighting) since I found out years ago that it sadly exists in our very own country," wrote Abellana in her post's caption.
The original post by the Animal Kingdom Foundation had a geo-tag of Glan, Saranggani, where the organization said there is a festival that "instigates violence among glorious horses in the pretense of tradition and culture through a 3-day horsefighting activity."
The said festival falls on October 4, which also happens to be World Animal Day — an international day of action for animal rights and welfare, and the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
Animal Kingdom Foundation added that "there is s nothing spiritual, religious, or cultural in pitting two massive animals to fight out for your enjoyment," citing such acts violate Republic Act 8485 (The Animal Welfare Act of 1998) as amended by a later act 10631, even tagging former Saranggani representative and senator Manny Pacquiao.
Abellana questioned why animals were made to fight, suffer, and die under the guise of “tradition” and “entertainment,” adding, "So you can gamble your money away?"
The actress then stated she stands with the Animal Kingdom Foundation to put an end to all forms of animal fighting.
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