Issues and Concerns/Recommendations of the One Health Summit

AM

1. Supply of vaccine for at least 80% of 9 million dogs in the Philippines.

Recommendation: rabies vaccine reconstitution to be requested through JICA project by next year and augmentation of rabies vaccine from Bill Gates Foundation but in the Visayas only.

2. PEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) given to all LGU vets will be provided by the DOH upon request but anti-tetanus shot is not included in PEP. Recommendation: all veterinary students participating in government vaccination programs can be given Pre-exposure Prophylaxis
3. Need to develop standards for gas chamber as form of euthanasia for control of stray dogs/cats.
4. Creation of Animal Welfare Desk in all PNP offices/stations. Recommendation: Make a complaint and report immediately any animal abuse to 0917-8475757 (PNP textline).
   
5. Application of S2 license centralized now with PDEA; online application thru PDEA’s website also now available. There is a need to inform PDEA of any importation of dangerous drugs specifically Pentobarbital.
6. Lack of trained personnel in using gunshot for humane destruction of livestock (REBOV). Suggestion for PNP officers to be trained in shooting animals for destruction.
7. There is a need for the veterinary corps to be included in the national disaster coordinating council (NDCC) and receive training in animal rescue. Technical working group should be created to draft the resolution thereto.
8. There is a need to stop dog meat trading by proper enforcement of RA 9482. PNP made a comment that they have 12 checkpoints going to Baguio to monitor dog trading since there have been no dog trader accosted in checkpoints; surveillance is very important in curtailing dog trade and need to be reported immediately.
9. No regular supply of rabies conjugate at the RADDL (Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory). Rabies Conjugate supply in the RADDL will be augmented by the BAI.
10. Procedure for filing animal welfare cases and violations of the anti-rabies law will be the same as filing of criminal case.
11. LGUs to adopt RA 9482 (Anti-rabies Act) in their respective jurisdiction.
12. Regarding the integration of rabies in the curriculum, there is a need for a directive from the DepEd National for implementation by the DepEd Regional. Recommendation: adopt the Region V modules for national implementation.
13. Focus also in dog neutering in addition to mass vaccination in dogs.
14. Possibility to conduct a regional immunization control is not feasible due to limited resources
15. Refine some clause in the law to emphasize DILG’s role in the control of rabies. Recommendation: DA Secretary and DOH secretary to write a resolution to the DILG and the DepEd to have a more active role in the program.
    
    

PM

1. Some local chief executives do not appoint veterinarians. No sanction in the law for not filling up mandatory positions. Recommendation: Dr. Atienza of DA BAI, Atty. Camacho of ULAP and Dr. Deray of DOH to meet with USec Panadero of DILG for the inclusion of appointment of mandatory positions in the LGU in the evaluation of the LGU performance. ULAP’s executive director will echo the issues raised also to the DILG secretary and emphasize the need for support of LGU for the implementation of the rabies law. ULAP to pass a strong resolution for the mandatory appointment of veterinarians in the LGUs
2. Regarding the Bohol’s Rabies elimination program, was animal welfare considered since stray dogs were shot in the streets in public? Shooting is acceptable with proper supervision by veterinarians and should be done privately. ULAP will meet with the governor about the concern.
3. Request to add the quick neutering technique in the course syllabus of surgery subjects of veterinary schools.
4. Strengthen advocacy information and education campaign about animal bite treatment centers (ABTCs) to counter the myths about tandok.
5. To draft a resolution for all government veterinarians to receive the full benefits of the Magna Carta for public health personnel.*

They also rescue pets, livestock from floods

By Tessa Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:54:00 10/05/2009

Filed Under: Good news, Animals, Ondoy, Food, Disasters (general), Relief & Aid Organisations

MANILA, Philippines—They set out to rescue endangered pets and livestock from the flood—while also helping humans along the way.

For five days now, an international team of animal welfare and animal rights advocates has been braving the floods in neighborhoods devastated by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana), asking around for abandoned animals and keeping an ear out for a puppy’s whimper, a cat’s scratching, or a pig’s squeal.

Assisted by the Philippine Army, the international team peered into dark living rooms, knocked on shuttered windows. Members of the team made chirping sounds, dog- and cat-calls—or anything that could draw a response from trapped creatures.

As of Sunday, Animal Rescue Pilipinas (ARP) had saved nine dogs (including two puppies), one adult cat and a kitten, and one turtle.

The lucky animals are now in the care of the Philippine Animal Rehabilitation Center (PARC) in Loyola Heights subdivision, Quezon City, where they await either a reunion with their owners or re-adoption.

Right to be rescued

“Humans should be rescued first, but the animals have a right to be rescued as well,” said one of the leaders of the team, veterinarian Nielsen Donato.

The ARP only started to mobilize four days after Ondoy had left the country so as not to interfere with human rescue operations that were launched immediately after the storm, said Donato, a cofounder of the Philippine Association of Wildlife Veterinarians Inc. and president of the Feathered Friends Foundation (FFF).

As of Sunday, ARP members had penetrated flooded areas in Laguna, Bulacan and Tarlac, and the cities of Marikina, Pasig and Taguig. They had also distributed relief goods to some 220 families.

Since most of the pet owners were nowhere to be found, the team members simply gave the animals new names when these were rescued.

Precious finds

Among their precious finds was “Twiggy,” a spotted mongrel, who was stranded for six days atop a table in a barangay outpost. Nearing death at the time she was rescued, Twiggy was now at the PARC recovering from severe dehydration.

Also saved was “Julia,” a light-brown dog small enough to fit in a handbag. She was spotted standing on a rock, shivering and starving.

“Stanley,” a medium-sized mongrel, and “Fiddler,” a German Shepherd, were both rescued from the ill-fated Provident Villages in Marikina City. Both were also treated for severe dehydration.

Apparently overjoyed by the sight of a human, “Lyndon,” a brown mongrel stranded on a rooftop, also at Provident, wagged his tail vigorously when found and jumped onto the outstretched arms of a rescuer.

Two days ago, the team found six pigs that were still in their pens on Acacia Street, Pasig City. Unable to escape and visibly hungry, the pigs were wailing and had begun eating anything that floated by, including garbage.

Too heavy to be moved to safe ground, the team decided to feed them while waiting for the owner to return.

But for many other animals, the effort came too late. Bloated carcasses of pets, some still on leashes or in cages, greeted the team in Marikina, for example.

World Animal Day

“I never imagined this was how we would observe World Animal Day (Oct. 4),” said Anna Hashim-Cabrera, program director for the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), one of the local organizations comprising the ARP.

“We’ve been receiving over a hundred e-mails asking us to attend to trapped animals. A lot of people are concerned now. There’s a bigger clamor for animal rescues,” Cabrera said.

Other Filipino groups on the ARP team include Animal Kingdom Foundation, Animal Welfare Coalition, Compassion and Responsibility for Animals, and the FFF.

International groups also on board are the Humane Society International, World Society for the Protection of Animals, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

Each organization was given different assignments depending on its specialization. The ARP gathered experts in animal rescue, shelter care, veterinary medicine, etc.

Urgent case

An urgent case involving both animal and human marked Day 5 of the ARP’s mission Sunday.

On a rubber boat, as though in a scene straight from some jungle adventure, Donato, along with paramedic Brenda Stanton and emergency responder Mike Booth (both of IFAW), attended to a snake bite victim.

Only this time it was in Barangay San Andres in suburban Cainta, Rizal, where floods unleashed by Ondoy nine days ago remained chest-deep.

The victim, a resident named Ariel Odea, was bitten by a reticulated python that sought shelter in his flooded house. Captured alive, the snake was turned over to Donato, who planned to release it far from human habitation.

Reporter's Notebook On Animal Cruelty

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AKF's Animal Rehabilitation & Rescue Center (ARRC)

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