The Animal Welfare Act of 1998
From Legal Wiki
Republic Act No. 8485, also known as The Animal Welfare Act of 1998 (full text), is an act to promote animal welfare in the Philippines. It is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2120 and House Bill No. 9274, and signed into law on 11 February 1998 by President Fidel V. Ramos.
Contents |
Purpose of the law
It is the purpose of this Act to protect and promote the welfare of all animals in the Philippines by supervising and regulating the establishment and operations of all facilities utilized for breeding, maintaining, keeping, treating or training of all animals either as objects of trade or as household pets. For purposes of this Act, pet animal shall include birds.[1]
What are "animals" covered by the law
The declared purpose of the law is "to protect and promote the welfare of all animals in the Philippines",[2] which means that it covers "all animals in the Philippines".
Pet shops, veterinary hospitals and other institutions
The law explicitly provides that: "No person, association, partnership, corporation, cooperative or any government agency or instrumentality including slaughterhouses shall establish, maintain and operate any pet shop, kennel, veterinary clinic, veterinary hospital, stockyard, corral, stud farm or stock farm or zoo for the breeding, treatment, sale or trading, or training of animals without first securing from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) a certificate of registration therefor."[3] The Director of the BAI shall supervise and regulate the establishment, operation and maintenance of these entities.[4]
The Certificate of Registration is issued by BAI upon proof that the facilities of such establishment for animals are adequate, clean and sanitary and will not be used for nor cause pain and/or suffering to the animals. This is a continuing requirement.[5] The certificate shall be valid for a period of one (1) year, and renewed from year to year. However, the Bureau of Animal Industry may revoke or cancel such certificate of registration for failure to observe these conditions and other just causes.[6]
Transportation of animals
The Director of the BAI shall supervise and regulate the transport of animals in any form of public or private transportation facility in order to provide maximum comfort while in transit and minimize, if not totally eradicate, incidence of sickness and death and prevent any cruelty from being inflicted upon the animals.[7]
It shall be the duty of any owner or operator of any land, air or water public utility transporting pet, wildlife and all other animals to provide in all cases adequate, clean and sanitary facilities for the safe conveyance and delivery thereof to their consignee at the place of consignment. They shall provide sufficient food and water for such animals while in transit for more than twelve (12) hours or whenever necessary.[8]
No public utility shall transport any such animal without a written permit from the Director of the Bureau of Animal Industry or his/her authorized representative. No cruel confinement or restrain shall be made on such animals while being transported.[9]
Any form of cruelty shall be penalized even if the transporter has obtained a permit from the Bureau of Animal Industry. Cruelty in transporting includes overcrowding, placing of animals in the trunks or under the hood trunks of the vehicles.[10]
Cruelty to animals
It shall be unlawful for any person to torture any animal or to neglect to provide adequate care, sustenance or shelter, or maltreat any animal or to subject any dog or horse to dogfights or horse fights, kill or cause or procure to be tortured or deprive of adequate care sustenance or shelter, or maltreat or use the same in research or experiments not expressly authorized by the Committee on Animal Welfare.[11]
Duty to protect natural habitat
It shall be the duty of every person to protect the natural habitat of the wildlife. The destruction of said habitat shall be considered as a form of cruelty to animals and its preservation is a way of protecting the animals.[12]
Killing of animals
The killing of any animal other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles is likewise hereby declared unlawful, except in the instances specifically provided by the law (see list below).[13]
When killing of animals allowed
The rule on the prohibition against killing of animals is not absolute. There are a number of exceptions provided by the law, to wit:
- 1. When it is done a part of the religious rituals of an established religion or sect or ritual required by tribal or ethnic custom of indigenous cultural communities; however, leaders shall keep records in the cooperation with the Committee on Animal Welfare;
- 2. When the pet animal is afflicted with an incurable communicable disease as determined by a duly licensed veterinarian;
- 3. When the killing is deemed necessary to put an end to the misery suffered by the animal as determined and certified by a duly licensed veterinarians;
- 4. When it is done to prevent an imminent danger to the life or limb of a human being;
- 5. When done for the purpose of animal population control;
- 6. When the animal is killed after it has been used in authorized research or experiments; and
- 7. Any other ground analogous to the foregoing as determined and certified by a licensed veterinarian.
Human procedure when killing of animals is allowed
In the instance when the killing of animals is allowed under the law (including cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles), it must be done through humane procedures at all times.[14] For this purpose, humane procedure shall mean the use of the most scientific methods available as may be determined and approved by the committee.[15] Only those procedures approved by the Committee shall be used in killing of animals.[16]
Penalty for violations
The importance of the law is not only the protection given to animals, but also the extent to which that protection is given. The law explicitly declared certain acts as criminal in nature and imposed corresponding penalties for certain violations.
The exact language of the penal clause is: "Any person who violates any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction by final judgment, be punished by imprisonment of not less than six (6) months nor more than two (2) years or a fine not less than One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) nor more than Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) or both at the discretion of the Court. If the violation is committed by a juridical person, the officer responsible therefore shall serve the imprisonment when imposed. If the violation is committed by an alien, he or she shall be immediately deported after services of sentence without any further proceedings."[17]
Committee on Animal Welfare
The law created a Committee on Animal Welfare, which is attached to the Department of Agriculture, which has the authority to issue the necessary rules and regulations for the strict implementation of the provisions of the law.[18] The law specifies the official representatives of the following entities as members to the committee:
- 1. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG);
- 2. Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS);
- 3. Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Department of Agriculture (DA);
- 4. Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR);
- 5. National Meat Inspection Commission (NMIC) of the DA;
- 6. Agriculture Training Institute (ATI) of the DA;
- 7. Philippine Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA);
- 8. Veterinary Practitioners Association of the Philippines (VPAP);
- 9. Philippine Animal Hospital Association of the Philippines (PAHA);
- 10. Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS);
- 11. Philippine Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA);
- 12. Philippine Society of Swine Practitioners (PSSP);
- 13. Philippine College of Canine Practitioners (PCCP); and
- 14. Philippine Society of Animal Science (PSAS).
The Chairman shall be a representative from the private sector, while the two (2) vice-chairpersons shall be the representative of the BAI and another from the private sector.[19]
See also
References
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 1
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 1
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 2
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 3
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 2
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 2
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 3
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 4
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 4
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 4
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 6
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 7
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 6
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 6
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 6
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 6
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 8
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 5
- ↑ Republic Act No. 8485, Sec. 5
