A city pound in San Juan City, Metro Manila, recently faced criticism for leaving strays in cages during the onslaught of Typhoon Gaemi on 25 July.
Source: Artikulo Siete on Facebook
Photos and videos circulated on social media show cages filled with deceased cats floating in flood waters. One dog stood helplessly on a cage amid the flood.
It is unknown how many strays were kept at the pound, but non-governmental animal rescue group Red Cubs Pet Patrol managed to save eight cats and 22 dogs, a volunteer rescuer by the name of Veron Cari-an told MS News.
Unfortunately, they could not rescue more animals as the city pound was locked.
According to Ms Cari-an, 12 dogs, including 10 puppies, and countless cats died from the incident. They reportedly drowned.
Ms Cari-an also wrote in a Facebook post citing netizens’ feedback that the San Juan City Pound staff had reportedly been mistreating strays even before the incident.
When unadopted, the animals were allegedly tortured, she said, giving an example of a puppy that was beheaded, a cat that had its leg cut off, and a puppy that was drowned.
Source: Artikulo Siete on Facebook
She later wrote in a separate post that the former caretaker is still taking donations and requesting cages despite the strays no longer being in his care.
Ms Cari-an told MS News that residents are afraid of the caretakers at the city pound as they had allegedly been sending them death threats.
Red Cubs Pet Patrol also stated in a Facebook post that the San Juan City Pound staff were not pleased with its intervention during the typhoon.
The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) released a statement on Sunday (28 July) urging the San Juan City mayor to hold those responsible for the drowning of strays accountable.
PAWS noted that during the incident, there was no employee “taking any action to free the animals” nor “calling for help from ordinary citizens in the area to help save them”. It added:
The animals were left behind like pieces of furniture.
Source: Artikulo Siete on Facebook
It said the pound should have set the animals free “to give them at least a fighting chance to survive”.
It also called on local government units managing pounds to “serve as a model of a humane animal facility” and ensure that “no impounded dog or cat suffers under their custody”.
“Impounded dogs already have the misfortune of being unwanted, homeless, and they should not be made to suffer in impounding facilities, much less left to die a slow painful death by drowning,” PAWS’ statement read.
Consequently, the local government of San Juan released a statement addressing the incident, saying it has launched an investigation.
It pledged to identify those responsible and ensure they are “held accountable to the fullest extent of the law”.
Source: Red Cubs Pet Patrol on Facebook
The local government also condemned the lapses in care and said it is committed to taking all necessary steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Also read: Dogs Stranded In Hong Kong Kennels Amid Floods, Volunteers Brave Downpour To Rescue Canines
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Featured image adapted from Artikulo Siete on Facebook
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