Reflecting the values of animal welfare support in the area and his own personal concern over the terrible cruelty associated with the illegal dog meat trade in the Philippines, David has signed Mark Pritchard’s EDM 774
‘That this House congratulates His Excellency Mr. Antonio Lagdameo on his appointment as Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the Court of St. James; notes the historic special relationship between the United Kingdom and the Republic of the Philippines and the never to be forgotten heroism shown by our Filipino allies during World War 11; further notes the shared values with respect to the treatment of animals in both countries as evidenced by recent legislation in the Philippines providing severe penalties for those convicted of involvement in the dog meat trade; respectfully requests that he convey to his Government the hope of this House that a Special Filipino Task Force is created to enforce these laws thereby eliminating this cruel exploitation of animals once and for all, further calls on the UK Government to offer support and advice to ensure that practice is finally stamped out’
To find out more visit
www.networkforanimals.org
This organisation has worked on this issue in the Philippines for over a decade and stands ready to support the Filipino Government in their efforts to enforce the available new animal welfare laws.
The commercial dog meat trade has proliferated to unprecedented levels in the Philippines, with approximately 500,000 dogs slaughtered annually under appalling conditions.
The dog meat trade is illegal in the Philippines, with dog meat eating banned nationwide in 1998 via the Animal Welfare Act. More recently, this national ban was bolstered by the Rabies Act (2008), which upgraded penalties for convicted dog meat traders to include jail time and substantially increased fines as one means of curbing the spread of rabies.
The Philippines and the UK enjoy good relations as longstanding partners and allies and have contacts at all levels of civil society. Britain has major investments in the Philippines concentrated in power, energy, agri-business, transport, water and financial services. Bilateral trade is worth around $2 billion USD annually. The UK is one of the largest foreign investors in the Philippines and provides extensive aid as well as working with the Philippine Government on issues of common concern, such as human rights issues, environment, disaster planning, international crime and kidnapping. As one of the Philippines’ top trading partners, the UK is in a strong position to demand enforcement of animal protection laws in the Philippines
Network for Animals is a UK Animal Welfare Group working on Horse fighting in the Philippines; Dog meat Trade in the Philippines, Badger Culling in the UK and the Commercial Seal hunt in Canada.
