Authorities save 50 dogs in Pangasinan from butcher's knife

By JING VALLEJOS
ABS-CBN Dagupan

Mapandan, Pangasinan - About 50 scared and troubled-looking dogs were saved from sure death in a slaughterhouse in Barangay Santa Maria in this town Saturday morning.

The raid was conducted after weeks of surveillance by Mapandan police.

The owner of the slaughterhouse was identified as Ferdinand Bugayong who was invited by the police for further investigation.

A certain barangay official from Manaoag in Pangasinan province meanwhile will also be questioned after he was allegedly the owner of a vehicle that would be used to transport the slaughtered dogs to Baguio City. The two are set to face charges on violations of Republic Act No. 8485 or the Animal Welfare Law.

When police conducted the raid on the slaughterhouse, 12 dogs were butchered already while 50 more were in line to suffer the same fate. The dog meat were about to be delivered reportedly to some restaurants in Baguio City within the day.

Each dog carcass would be sold at P500 to P1,000, prices that actually had residents enticed to engage into the business even if it is against the law.

Dog butchering in the province was said to be rampant, reason enough for authorities to monitor the illegal activities.

Preventing such activity however is still far off since most residents reportedly prefer to eat dog meat as part of the traditional cuisine that suits their taste.