That’s a general rule that Anna Cabrera, executive director of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), wishes to relay to those who are worrying about the wellbeing of their pets in the extreme heat currently being experienced nationwide. 

The temperature is not expected to drop soon. In an interview with PTV News last April 18, Ana Liza Solis, climate monitoring and prediction section chief of the Department of Science and Technology-Pagasa, said historically high temperatures have been recorded in the Philippines during the months of April and May. Thus, Filipinos should brace for even hotter days in the coming weeks.

And animal lovers have much to be concerned about during these troubling times.

Breed  

Cabrera observes that “with global warming and less trees, the heat is getting very bad.” She finds it “alarming” that many Filipinos looking for pet dogs are choosing purebreds or shih tzus belonging to the Brachycephalic breeds. (According to bluegrass.org.uk, Brachycephalic breeds are those that are short-nosed and flat-faced, or whose muzzle looks like it has been flattened or squashed inwards. “Their bottom jaw is disproportionately longer than their upper jaw, and the dog may look as though their lower jaw sticks out.”) 

Filipinos may not be aware that Brachycephalic breeds, as cute as they are, suffer most during intense heat, Cabrera tells CoverStory.ph, underscoring the importance of knowing the breed of one’s dog and what effects the summer heat has on them.

She cites an incident where a French bulldog was found dead in a room: “The house help just closed the door of the room. In this heat, without any air-conditioning or any other ventilation, it is dangerous for any dog, especially of the Brachycephalic breeds, to be kept inside [a closed space].” 

She laments reports of people who buy huskies, or dogs who have a double coat and are suited to live in a cold climate, and just keep them in cages, exposed to the heat. Of course, she points out, Pinoy dogs and cats—the beloved aspin and puspin—also need protection from situations that adversely affect purebred pets. 

Making sure that pets have access to clean, fresh water at all times, especially in this extreme heat, is important.  

In the PAWS shelter, an empty water bowl is a major infraction. Cabrera says she understands seeing empty food bowls because there’s a feeding schedule that is followed. (The shelter animals are fed twice daily, at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.). But it’s a different thing when it involves water. “The water must always be there,” she says. “In fact, part of our orientation is, if they see an animal area without water, they should report it to the shelter manager who will then call the attention of the caretaker, and a stern reminder will be given on the importance of the matter.” 

As a pet organization, PAWS holds Halloween contests where dogs and cats wear costumes. “They’re inside the mall and they just go up the stage for an hour or a few minutes, after which their costumes are removed,” Cabrera says. She notes that many Filipinos love to dress up their pets. “I guess in a mall setting, since the place is air-conditioned, it’s okay for our pets,” she says. “But if it’s in a regular environment, I suggest not to dress them up.”  

It’s the pets’ health and comfort and that should be first and foremost, Cabrera says, adding: “We love it when we see a cute dog in a stroller, but we should also be responsible and think of other things like, has the dog been vaccinated? Spayed or neutered?”

Sweating

A fur parent thinking of taking one’s pet to the groomer for a summer cut should be reminded that dogs actually sweat through their paws and tongue. An entry in the website willowbrookpetclinic.com states: “Although wearing a fur coat in the summer might increase your risk of heat stroke, the same isn’t true for your pets. Their coats actually provide a built-in heating and cooling system. During the winter, your dog or cat’s fur offers warmth when it lies flat against the body. When temperatures soar, the individual hairs in your pet’s coat stand upright, maximizing air flow.” 

There’s a post in the PAWS Facebook page showing a dog rescued in Fairview, Quezon City, with first-degree burns on his front paws. They named the dog Benjie. “The weird thing is only his front paws were injured,” says Cabrera. “We presumed that he stepped on a discarded piece of galvanized roof exposed for hours under the sun.” 

A graphic photo of Benjie’s burned front paws was posted to make people aware that it’s not okay to walk their dogs on a scorching hot pavement, especially during summer. Cabrera suggests grassy areas for walking, with no strenuous activities for pets for the time being. 

Would having pet dogs wear shoes remedy the situation? According to Cabrera, PAWS is against dogs wearing shoes because it’s through the glands in the paw pads, and the tongue, that they sweat. “It’s really bothersome to let them wear shoes,” she says. “Now, if dogs are made to wear shoes inside an air-conditioned mall, then maybe it’s okay. But definitely not outside.” 

Care

There’s no escaping this oppressive heat. Cabrera says responsible pet owners should share with their fur babies what make them comfortable, such as a place in an air-conditioned room, a space reached by an electric fan, a shaded area outdoors, even a handy hand fan. 

Cabrera says she respects people who say frankly that they have no pets because they have no time to give these pets the necessary care. She regrets that there are many who insist on having many pets but are neglectful of their welfare. 

With the challenges that animal welfare advocates have been facing, especially during this scorching hot summer, it’s a statement that gives voice to the cry for help of voiceless and helpless animals, and a wake-up call for those who have the means to make the world a better place for them, in all kinds of weather. 

We are, after all, responsible for the creatures that we tame.

The post Save your pets in this extreme weather appeared first on CoverStory.

In months-long trips, the research team in the Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park (NPPNP) uncovered more signs of wildlife poaching, illegal tree cutting and other offenses—sawn tree stumps, trees toppled or chopped, metal traps, missing monitor cameras, two deserted camps, bullet shells, and a clearing once thick with upland rice.

Conservationists are worried that the heightened criminal activities and the apparent absence of law enforcement in the protected area, one of the country’s remaining primary lowland rainforests, may irreparably set back their goals to protect it.

In a post on its Facebook account, the NPPNP office said its rangers “continuously guard … against illegal doers” and it “discourage[s] any unlawful activities within the park” which are penalized under Republic Act No. 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018, and other forest-related laws.

Related: The stink of agarwood trafficking in Panay

‘Hidden jewel’

The NPPNP, described as a “hidden jewel of Panay,” is home to endemic flora and fauna, including the rare Visayan Warty Pig (Sus Cebifrons), Negros Bleeding Heart pigeon (Gallicolumba keayi), Walden’s Hornbill (Rhabdotorrhinus waldeni), Tarictic Hornbill (Penelopides panini), Philippine Spotted Deer (Rusa alfredi), agarwood tree (Aquilaria malaccensis), and Venus Slipper orchid (Paphiopedilum henissanum).

Its watersheds are still relatively intact and vital to farming communities and their water supply, including one leading to the top resort island of Boracay in Malay.

The natural park was proclaimed a protected area by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on April 18, 2002.

Cases of intensifying wildlife offenses and abuses in the NPPNP were reported by field researchers and their guides as part of a project funded by a British government grant under the Darwin Initiative and jointly undertaken by the Philippine Initiative for Conservation of Environment (PhilinCon) and the Bristol Zoological Society. 

“While some residents have been identified as hunters and poachers, … the drivers of hunting and poaching are a complex issue to address,” Rebecca Tandug-Barrios, PhilinCon chair, told CoverStory.ph. “Despite the heavy campaigns to stop these activities against the endangered wildlife, the need to empower the communities and to provide alternative solutions to poaching must be immediately done.”

Surveys of species

Wildlife population surveys were also conducted by the field team, especially on the Visayan Warty Pig and macaques, in 19 expeditions and 13 revisits to the NPPNP during the first year, according to their report last March 30.  

Footage from 16 camera traps showed “many signs” of the animal species, including leopard cats, civet cats and Red Jungle fowls, in their habitat. The signs included visual images, sounds of movement and flight, rooting, tracks, nesting and tree rubbing.

Some areas reached by the team were described as “the most pristine … because of the impenetrable terrain and untouched forests.” 

A total of 763 cases of illegal activities, including wildlife and agarwood poaching, have been recorded, or more than two cases a day. In 17 routine patrols conducted in areas whose coordinates were provided by the field surveyors, forest rangers discovered and dismantled 416 traps meant for the Visayan Warty Pig, macaques, civet cats, leopard cats, monitor lizard and Red Jungle fowls. They seized a “holen,” or a homemade plastic tube gun with marble bullets.   

Illegal tree girdling and cutting were seen in a village in Libertad and in three villages in Nabas, Aklan. The fallen trees were mostly narra, kamagong, tabaw and the critically endangered lawaan—hardwood species that are in high demand in furniture making, and building and boat construction. The names of the villages were withheld as requested by the project officers, citing security concerns.

Agarwood poaching

The team listed 113 cases of poaching of agarwood, locally called “lapnisan,” whose resin is a high-value ingredient for luxury perfume (see CoverStory.ph report “The stink of agarwood trafficking in Panay”); 10 cases of illegal tree cutting for boat hulls; and clearing of forest land to expand or prepare growing areas for coconut, ginger, taro and other root crops.

Scores of young and mature agarwood trees were cut, their wounds infected with fungus to enable the extraction of the dark fragrant resin used in producing expensive perfumes. These were found in Libertad. 

Widespread harvesting of agarwood was also observed in two villages in Nabas. 

Last December, the team stumbled upon a poachers’ camp in Buruanga, about two kilometers from a wildlife research station in Sibaliw. It also found ground prints from combat shoes and a sawn narra tree in one village and a kaingin farm in another.

Twelve-gauge shotgun and 22-cal. bullet shells were scattered in the forest. 

According to the team, six camera traps were missing in three barangays in Libertad and believed to have been taken by the agarwood poachers; one  other device was destroyed. 

Although the camera traps were meant to study wildlife, “the recent surge of agarwood poaching in the park made the equipment vulnerable to stealing … to remove evidence of illegal activities,” according to the report.

Law enforcement

Responding to the request of CoverStory.ph for comments, Protected Area Superintendent (PASu) Jonne L. Adaniel said surveillance and monitoring activities were in progress. But he could not provide information on law enforcement operations without clearance from the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB).

“Certainly, we have ongoing actions on the reported illegal activities,” he said in a text message.

Adaniel serves as chief operating officer of the PAMB, which manages and administers the NPPNP. The board, chaired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional director, is composed of the governors of Antique and Aklan, mayors and barangay chairs of the towns covered by the NPPNP, as well as representatives of nongovernment and people’s organizations. 

Six forest rangers are currently employed as wildlife enforcement officers under the PASu and conduct regular patrols twice a month in the natural park. They may appear as mere moving dots in the park’s expanse of 12,000 hectares, but they are mandated to take action on any sign of illegal activity.

According to the field team’s report, they were able to “minimize” illegal wildlife harvesting, tree cutting and slash-and-burn farming. Copies of the report were sent to the PASu and PAMB for legal action.

“We have asked PAMB and the DENR to look into the crisis of hunting in the NPPNP,” PhilinCon chair Tandug-Barrios said. “Our organization will always be working faithfully with them on conservation. The lives of our precious wildlife depend on us.”

“While we are collecting these multiple data, we cannot simply ignore these ‘state-of-emergency conditions’ on illegal prevalence,” she said. “Some proactive measures have to be taken up by all stakeholders.”

Tandug-Barrios added: “Our investment on conservation must move beyond this biodiversity asset and threat map, explore synergies, forward multiple objectives, and tradeoffs as practical tools to ‘what to do next’ in our conservation decisions.”

The post Poachers stepping up hunt for critically endangered animals in Panay appeared first on CoverStory.

In the neighboring province of Tarlac, the Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) continues to work to achieve its objective of ending the illegal and brutal trade in dog meat. The group was already waging its fight when other animal welfare organizations in Asian countries such as China, Indonesia and Cambodia were just beginning their own campaign. 

“That’s our core program because our campaign really started for the [eradication of the] dog meat trade, and that’s how our organization was built,” says lawyer Heidi Marquez Caguioa, AKF’s program director. “AKF started the campaign in Asia when nobody was fighting against the dog meat trade.”  

AKF, which formally started in 2002, is run by Filipinos, but it was through the efforts of a Briton, the late Charles Leslie Wartenberg, that made it what it is now.

In the United Kingdom, Wartenberg had read a newspaper report on the trade in dog meat in the Philippines. This prompted him to visit the country in 1998 to look into the matter. Finding that what he had read in the paper was actually happening, he formed a group in coordination with the police and launched operations to rescue dogs headed for slaughter. 

The group eventually became the AKF.

Having no rescue center at that time, AKF linked up with Manila veterinarians who arranged for rescued dogs to stay for a week in the city pound. But as the number of rescues grew, it became clear that the pound could not serve as their long-time haven. 

The problem was solved when a permanent shelter for the animals was found in Capas. At present, more than 300 dogs and 42 cats are staying in the AKF shelter. 

Related: Small dogs are all the rage, but think twice before buying these fur babies

To help Filipino dogs

During the first few years of AKF, funds were not a problem because Wartenberg was a member of a UK group that raised the money needed for the foundation’s operations. “We just kept working and left the funding to them,” Caguioa says in an interview with CoverStory.ph. 

A disagreement between Wartenberg and the UK group prodded him to leave it, leading to AKF’s financial woes. 

But even earlier, Caguioa recalls, Wartenberg always told the AKF members that they should learn to raise their own funds and manage their own programs: “He said, ‘You have to do things on your own because I built this organization not for the UK people but for you Filipinos to help Filipino dogs.’”

Wartenberg’s advice prepared AKF to eventually deal with and resolve its financial difficulties, Caguioa says.

AKF believes that it cannot help dogs and stop the dog meat trade unless it also focuses on education, immersion, and legislation. Thus, pet education programs were conducted in Baguio City and La Trinidad in the north, as well as in provinces in Calabarzon and Central Luzon. 

“We hired teachers to go around these areas, teaching animal welfare and responsible pet ownership,” Caguioa says.

Using the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) as model sans financial help as incentive, AKF implemented a project in which those qualified under the 4Ps (or living on or below the poverty threshold) are empowered to make a difference in animal welfare. 

Caguioa says she met with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Baguio City: “I said, these people have many dogs, they have many pets … If you empower them and give them a chance to become an important member of society through pet ownership, this could change their mindset. It could help erase victim mentality.” 

In 2012, Caguioa says, DSWD Baguio and AKF signed a memorandum of agreement on a three-year project involving education on animal welfare. Bearing educational materials, DSWD officers and AKF teachers climbed mountains and crossed rivers in fulfillment of the project. And because back then AKF had a partnership with the Department of Education, the teachers also visited grade schools in Baguio. 

Unfortunately, AKF could not continue the educational project beyond the agreed three years due to lack of funds. But there are indications that somehow, its efforts had paid off. “Before, you could see dog meat being sold in the Baguio market or in other areas in the city. Now, if there are those who still sell dog meat, they do it secretly,” Caguioa says. 

She says that, prompted by a police raid in July 2022 on a restaurant that continued to serve dog meat despite multiple apprehensions, Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong issued a memorandum stating that the sale of dog meat is illegal and that as mayor he strongly prohibits it. 

AKF volunteers monitor the trade in dog meat. “We rely on people, on netizens. There’s no need to put [staff members] on site … We cannot handle the cost,” Caguioa says.

She adds that AKF has a good relationship with vets and the police, whom she describes as always ready to respond to a call.

Stronger weapon

When RA 10631 (or the amended Animal Welfare Act of 1998) was signed into law in 2013 by then President Benigno Aquino III, animal welfare groups were provided a stronger weapon to help stop animal abusers and dog meat traders. 

From a measly P5,000 fine for cruelty cases, the amended law now requires violators to pay between P30,000 and P100,000. Aside from the jail time (the maximum two-year imprisonment is retained), a fine of P250,000 may be imposed if the offense is committed by a syndicate, an offender who makes business out of cruelty to an animal, a public officer or employee, or when at least three animals are involved. 

Is the dog meat trade still rampant despite RA 1063? “I would say that it’s still existing but … it’s not as big as it used to be,” says Caguioa. “It never really stopped. The cases only decreased.” 

AKF’s hope is for the trade to be stamped out—still impossible at this point, according to Caguioa, but the organization is thankful that the Philippines is being recognized in Southeast Asia as the first country in the region to take an active role in the campaign.  

Like other untiring animal welfare advocates, Caguioa considers the signing in 2016 of a National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Dog Meat Trade, also an important achievement. This was a brainchild of Caguioa and AKF in collaboration with the Department of the Interior and Local Government; the Bureau of Animal Industry with stakeholders like the police, local vet offices and local government units; the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples; and NGOs.

Partnership

AKF wants to share its achievements in its campaign against the dog meat trade with its counterparts in Asia. Thus, it has partnered with the Thailand-based Soi Dog Foundation, which was founded in 2003 by John Dalley and his late wife Gill, both good friends of AKF founder Wartenberg. For years Soi’s focus was on stray dogs and cats, but it has now begun its fight against the dog meat trade in Thailand. 

“The partnership is doing ok. We’re really happy with our [respective] success and we [know] that we would be mutually helping each other,” says Caguioa.

For its campaign to fully succeed, AKF knows that public awareness of animal welfare in general and the dog meat trade in particular is imperative. Steps have been taken via education information; projects like spaying and neutering (AKF conducts these procedures for a minimal fee in its Tarlac shelter every Saturday and Sunday starting at 8 a.m.); antirabies vaccination; and lobbying for pertinent legislation. 

Seminars are conducted depending on requests made to AKF or issues that it wants highlighted. In 2022, it held online seminars for companies and schools. And since AKF also has a farm animal welfare program, partner schools visit the shelter and are shown its model poultry farm of cage-free chickens. 

“The biggest cruelty happens, not with our pets, but with farm animals,” Caguioa points out. “We immerse the students so they’ll understand the difference when they go to other farms.”

Other means of helping 

Actively fighting the dog meat trade doesn’t mean that AKF has focused all its energy and resources on this matter alone. Its volunteers are ready to help other animals in need, especially when calamity strikes. 

“Our volunteers are divided into different groups,” Caguioa says. “For example, if a fire breaks out in Tondo, Manila, a volunteer in the area can coordinate and relay information on the help that is needed.”

The eruption of Taal Volcano in 2020 decimated AKF’s calamity fund but did not stop its efforts to help animals in need. “It’s a good thing though that when disaster strikes [and we need funding], people’s donations pour in right away,” Caguioa says. She equates this to the people’s trust in AKF and the knowledge that their donations are spent judiciously.

Animal welfare awareness has improved in the provinces, especially among the youth, and this may be attributed to social media, Caguioa says. 

She says pet ownership expanded greatly during the pandemic lockdowns: “[For these people] owning a pet started to have a purpose and made them feel good.” But in 2021 when Covid cases began to wane and people were returning to their workplaces, and others were having financial problems, many wanted to give up their pets. 

AKF helped by providing veterinary access to those who could no longer afford their pets’ medical expenses. A “Barkyanihan” pet pantry was also set up. The same assistance was provided after Typhoon “Odette” hit Cebu in December 2021, with vets, donors, and volunteers playing a big part. 

Pet adoption

One of AKF’s important programs is pet adoption. Many adoptions of dogs and cats were made in 2022 and AKF intends to double the number this year through “Find Love Online” and events in malls in Manila. A strict screening process is conducted and follow-ups are made for two months, after which the adopters are randomly visited by AKF. 

To be sure, not all adopted dogs find their “forever home.” For various reasons, Caguioa says, “there are instances when we take a dog back to the shelter or when dogs are returned to us.” 

She has this to say to those with vague intentions of helping voiceless animals: “If you want to help them, please do so, and please do so actively. If you want to protect them, do something. We cannot be keyboard warriors all the time. If you cannot help because of whatever factors, you can always donate. You can help educate. You can make people be aware. You cannot just say you love animals. You cannot just say ‘I’m concerned about animals’ without really doing something. I have always been a believer of Nike’s tagline to ‘just do it.’”

Speaking for myself, in 2008 I stopped the transport of a female dog to a northern province. She was to be butchered and served for someone’s birthday party. She was chased by men wielding a big fish hook and smoked out of the drainage canal in which she tried to hide from them—quite an ordeal. 

I managed to claim her, decided to bring her home, and named her Lucky. She died of old age last year. 

With resolve, and as long as animal welfare groups like AKF are there to show the way, there will be a hundred more Luckys that we can save.

For updates and information on donations, visit AKF’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AKFanimalrescue. —Ed.

The post Save the dogs (and other creatures) appeared first on CoverStory.