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AN
ACT TO PROMOTE ANIMAL WELFARE IN THE PHILIPPINES,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT
OF
1998"
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the Philippines in Congress assembled.
SECTION 1. It is
the purpose of this Act to protect and promote
the welfare of all animals in the Philippines
by supervising end 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
animals shall include birds.
SECTION 2. No person,
association, partnership, corporation, cooperative
or any government agency or instrumentality including
slaughter houses shall establish, maintain and
operate any pet shop, kennel, veterinary clinic,
veterinary hospital, stockyard, corral, stud farm
or zoo for the breeding, treatment, sale or trading,
or training of animals without first securing
from the Bureau of Animal Industry a certificate
of registration therefore.
The certificate shall be issued upon proof that
the facilities of such establishment for animals
are adequate, clean end sanitary and will not
be used for nor cause pain and/or suffering to
the animals. The certificate shall be valid for
a period of one (I) year unless earlier cancelled
for just cause before the expiration of its term
by the Director of the Bureau of Animal Industry
and may be renewed from year to year upon compliance
with the conditions imposed hereunder. The Bureau
shall charge reasonable fees for the issuance
or renewal of such certificate.
The condition that such facilities be adequate,
dean and sanitary, and that they will not be used
for nor cause pain and/or suffering to the animals
is a continuing requirement for the operation
of these establishments. The Bureau may revoke
or cancel such certificate of registration for
failure to observe these conditions and other
just cause.
SECTION 3. The Director
of the Bureau of Animal Industry shall supervise
and regulate the establishment, operation and
maintenance, of pet shops, kennels, veterinary
clinics, veterinary hospitals, stockyards, corrals,
stud farms and zoos and any other form or structure
for the confinement of animals where they are
bred, treated, maintained, or kept either for
sale or trade or for training purposes as well
as the transport of such animals in any form of
public or private transportation facility, in
order to provide maximum comfort while in transit
and minimized, if not totally eradicate, incidence
of sickness and death and prevent any cruelty
from being inflicted upon the animals.
The Director may call upon any Government agency
for assistance consistent with its powers, duties
and responsibilities for the purpose of ensuring
the effective and efficient implementation of
this Act and the rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder.
It shall be the duty of such government agency
to assist said Director when called upon for assistance
using any available fund in it budget for the
purpose.
SECTION 4. 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, dean and sanitary facilities for
sale 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.
No public utility shall transport any such animals
without a written permit form the Director of
the Bureau of Animal Industry or his/her authorized
representative. No cruel confinement or restraint
shall be made on such animals while being transported.
Any form, of cruelty shall be penalized even if
the transporter has obtained a permit from the
Director of the Bureau of Animal Industry. Cruelty
in transporting includes overcrowding, placing
of animals in the trunks or under the hood trunks
of vehicles.
SECTION 5. There
is hereby created a Committee on Animal Welfare
attached to the Department of Agriculture which
shall, subject to the approval of the Secretary
of the Department of Agriculture, issue the necessary
rules and regulation for the strict implementation
of the provisions of this Act, including the setting
of safety and sanitary standards, within thirty
(30) calendar days following its approval. Such
guidelines shall be reviewed by the Committee
every three years from its implementation or whenever
necessary.
The Committee shall be composed of the official
representatives of the following:
- The
Department of Interior and Local Government
(DILG);
- Department
of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS)
- Bureau
of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Department of
Agriculture (DA)
- Protected
Areas and Wildlife Bureau
(PAWB) of the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR)
- National
Meat Inspection Commission (NMIC) of the DA
- Agriculture
Training Institute (ATI) of DA
- Philippine
Veterinary Medical Association
- Veterinary
Practitioners Association of the
Philippines (VPAP)
- Philippine
Animal Hospital Association
(PA HA)
-
Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
-
Philippine Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals (PSPCA)
-
Philippine Society of Swine Practitioners (PSSP)
-
Philippine College of Canine Practitioners
(PCCP)
- Philippine
Society of Animal Science (PSAS)
The
Committee shall be chaired by a representative
coming from the private sector and shall have
two (2) vice-chairpersons composed of the representative
of BAI and another from the private sector.
The Committee shall meet quarterly or as often
as the need arises. The Committee members shall
not receive any compensation but may receive reasonable
honoraria from time to time.
SECTION 6. It shall
be unlawful for any person to torture any animal,
to neglect to provide adequate care, sustenance
or shelter, or maltreat any animals or to subject
any dog or horse to dogfights or horsefights,
kill or cause or procure to be tortured or deprived
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.
The killing of any animal other than cattle, pigs,
goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabao, horse,
deer and crocodiles is likewise hereby declared
unlawful except in the following instances:
- When
it is done as part of the religious rituals
of an established religion or sect or ritual
required by ethnic custom of indigenous cultural
communities: however, leaders shall keep records
in cooperation with the Committee on Animal
Welfare;
- When
the pet animal is afflicted with an incurable
communicable disease as determined and certified
by a duly licensed veterinarians;
- 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 veterinarian;
- When
it is done to prevent an imminent danger to
the life or limb of a human being; and
- When
done for the purpose of animal population control;
- When
animal is killed after it has been used in authorized
research or experiments; and
- Any
other ground analogous to the foregoing as determined
and certified by a licensed veterinarian.
In
all the above mentioned cases, including those
of cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits,
carabao, hones, deer and crocodiles, the killing
of the animals shall be done through humane procedures
at all times.
For this purpose, humane procedures shall means
the use of the most scientific methods available
as may be determined and approved by the Committee.
Only those procedures approved by the Committee
shall be used in killing of animals.
SECTION 7. 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.
SECTION
8.
Any person who violate, any of the provisions
of this Act shall, upon conviction by final judgement,
be punished by imprisonment of not less than six
(6) months nor more than two (2) years or a fine
of not less than One thousand pesos (P1,000) nor
more than Five thousand pesos (P5,000) 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 violation is committed by an
alien, he or she shall be immediately deported
after serviced sentence without any further proceedings.
SECTION 9. All laws,
acts, decrees, executive orders, rules, and regulations
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
SECTION 10. This
Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in at least two (2) newspapers
of general circulation.
Approved:
JOSE
DE VENECIA, JR.
Speaker
of the House of Representatives
NEPTALI
A. GONZALES
President of the, Senate
This
Act, which 1 a consolidation of Senate Bill no.
2120 and House Sill No. 9274 was, finally passed
by the Senate and the House of Representatives
on February 3,1998 and February 2,1998, respectively.
ROBERTO
P. NAZARENO
Secretary General, House
of Representatives
HEZEL
P. GACUTAN
Secretary of the Senate
Approved:
February 11, 1998
FIDEL
V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines
THE
PRECEDING ARTICLE WAS COPIED FROM THE ORIGINAL
REPUBLIC ACT 8485
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