Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is a non-government institution situated in the Philippines. Its advocacies focus on the different issues concerning animal rights and welfare. PAWS is currently active, spreading its advocacies to the people by engaging in different rallies, bringing up massive campaigns to different companies and institutions, giving stray animals a new home, and organizing different activities like formal dinners for fund-raising. All of PAWS activities are for the welfare of both farm, and domestic animals.

History

PAWS was founded in 1954 by Muriel Jay, a British educator who was, by that time, residing in the Philippines. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ] The organization’s first members were handpicked by Jay and Nita Hontiveros-Lichauco, the current president of PAWS, was one of them.

Hontiveros-Lichauco recalled that PAWS, as a new organization then, would make stuffed toys and other items which she and the other members would sell to gain funds. They also had a clinic where they provided services for injured animals and two bicycle patrols that they used to save stray animals from the streets. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

However, PAWS became dormant when Jay went back to England. It was in 1986, when Hontiveros-Lichauco reorganized PAWS with a new team of professional volunteers which were primarily veterinarians and educators. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

It was in 1996 when the present batch of PAWS’s members joined. The new volunteers, which were mostly the youth, came out with more aggressive ideas in promoting the advocacies of the organization. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ] These ideas were still enacted by PAWS at present.

Programs and Advocacies

PAWS is against the abuse of animals in any form. For years, the organization defended animals and reminded the people of animal rights by organizing different programs. Here are some of the organization’s successful and on-going projects and programs:

Republic Act 8485

Since its reorganization in 1986, PAWS has been actively lobbying for the Republic Act 8485 or the Philippine Animal Welfare Act. However, the government was still not ready for it by that time.
PAWS and its volunteers never gave up on their goal and came up with a revised Animal Welfare Bill which they diligently pursued in the Senate of the Philippines, and the Congress of the Philippines. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ] On February 11, 1998, the Animal Welfare Act of 1998 (also known as the Republic Act 8485) was signed into the law by the then president, Fidel V. Ramos. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

"Dog Meat Trade"

PAWS was responsible for a huge legal victory in the Northern Province of Benguet on April 2006. The province sought to take advantage of a loophole in the Animal Welfare Act of 1998, which allows the consumption of Dog meat as a cultural and ritual practice, but not for commercial purposes. PAWS found out that Benguet’s Dog Meat sprung not from “cultural practice” but that of just commercial purposes. After a massive world-wide letter campaign and with helps from other local animal welfare groups, the Benguet local government gave in. www.paws.org.ph]
On May 2006, PAWS met with the national Meat Inspection Services, a division of the Philippine Department of Agriculture. Some of the main goals of the meeting were to close the loophole in the Animal Welfare Act of 1998, prevent circumventions in the law, and establish clear methods of enforcing the law. [http://ph.88db.com/ph/Knowledge/Knowledge_Detail.page/Pets/?kid=352 dog meat in the philippines |Pets| Knowledge | 88DB Philippines ] ]

PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center (PARC)

PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center (PARC) is a temporary shelter for abandoned and stray dogs and cats and is found at the back of Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) in Quezon City. It aims to find new homes for the dogs and the cats through its adoption program patterned after some western animal shelters. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ] With PARC’s visibility, PAWS aims to enhance the Filipino’s awareness of animal welfare. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

PARC became a favorite destination for field trips, where students are taught to love and care for animals, as well as nature. www.astroleaguephils.org/paws/index.html] At present, it has already received thousands of students from various schools within Metro Manila and other provinces. onephil.com/box4.htm]

In 2006, the shelter responded to over 1,300 calls from beleaguered pet owners asking for simple pet health care advice and reports of animal cruelty. onephil.com/box4.htm] By the time PARC opened in 2002, over 500 rescued and rehabilitated animals have been re-homed. onephil.com/box4.htm]

"Project’s history"

A similar project to PARC was established by Hontiveros-Lichauco and her volunteers after PAWS's re-organization. A cattery was put up at the back of the Lichauco’s residence in New Manila to serve as a temporary shelter for abandoned and rescued cats. Abandoned dogs, on the other hand, were sent to a Lichauco farm in Pangasinan. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

PARC’s construction formally started in September 2000, with funding from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and assistance from Don Manolo Lopez of MERALCO. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ] It had an informal operation in 2002, though it was still unfinished then.

"Spaying and Neutering"

PARC’s clinic offers a low-cost neutering of dogs and cats to solve the problem of pet overpopulation. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ] PARC believes that as these animals continue to breed, possibilities of them dying and being hurt and abused, would just increase.

Dr. Dog Program

Dr. Dog is an animal-assisted therapy program founded by Jill Robinson, MBE of Animals Asia Foundation, based in Hong Kong, Dr. Dog is a program run by Animals Asia. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]
PAWS is the coordinator and the implementing arm of Dr. Dog in the Philippines. With "Pakko", a german shepherd, and a dalmatian named "freckles", PAWS visited facilities like “Tahanang Walang Hagdanan” (House Without Stairs) – a home for disabled children and adults and the HOPE school for Special Children. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

See Beauty Beyond Breed

"See main Article for See Beauty Beyond Breed"The “See Beauty Beyond Breed” is a campaign dedicated to all the native cats and dogs, and their rescuers from cruelty. The campaign tries to encourage people to consider adopting native dogs and cats from PARC. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ] The campaign also aims also to uplift the image of native dogs, popularize the term “Aspins” for “Asong Pinoy” instead of “Askal” or “Asong Kalye.”

The Filipino celebrities, Heart Evangelista and Jericho Rosales, served as spokespeople of PAWS for this campaign.

Dining for Dogs

With hopes of increasing funds for PARC, PAWS organized their first annual charity dinner entitled “Dine with PAWS.” It was attended by more than 300 guests and over 120 dogs. onephil.com/box4.htm] It successfully raised P225,000.00 for PARC. onephil.com/box4.htm]
Notable appearances of Celebrities in the Dinner were: KC Concepcion and Tim Yap with a Pomeranian shih tzu; Vina Morales with a mini pom; Regine Tolentino, husband Lander Perez, with daughters Reigne and Reigen with 2 shih tzu. onephil.com/box4.htm]
Other VIP guests included Chit Juan, CEO of the Philippine coffee chain Figaro, who was with COO Reena Francisco and their pet Chihuahua; Dr. Vic Atienza , Assistant Director of the Bureau of Animal Industry, with Dr. Angel Mateo, OIC of the Animal Welfare Division of BAI. onephil.com/box4.htm]

Humane Education

PAWS visits schools and the strength of its Humane Education program lies in its Preschool modules - teaching very young kids kindness and responsible pet ownership through puppet shows, action songs and meet-the-Professor Dog sessions. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

It also offers free talks and lectures for grade school, high school and university students. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]
Since 2005, PAWS has been tied up with Center for Social Concerns and Action (COSCA) - the community service arm of De La Salle University - for advocacy and direct service projects promoting animal welfare. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

Recent protests

PAWS has been recently active in rallies to stop animal abuse. Here were some of their recent protests:

1) "A protest against the testing of lethal injection for human Death Row inmates to animals in 2001."

2) "A protest against an elephant show in Araneta center in 2003."

3) "A Protest against dogfights in Antipolo City Hall last April 2007."

4) "An Information rally vs. dolphin shows at SM Mall of Asia on December 2006 and a Protest rally vs. a dolphin show at MetroWalk on December 2007."
PAWS protested to SM Mall of Asia and Movers & Shakers, the organizers of the dolphin shows in the said mall since organizing such activity only causes cruelty and abuse to dolphins. Both SM Mall of Asia and Movers & Shakers promised not to hold the show again. feed://animaladvocates.multiply.com/feed.rss3]

After a year, SM kept its promise to PAWS but Movers & Shakers did not. As a result, on December 9, 2007, PAWS held a peaceful picket at the MetroWalk in Ortigas where the dolphin shows were held to distribute flyers about the abuse of dolphins in front of the show’s entrance. feed://animaladvocates.multiply.com/feed.rss3]

5) "A protest rally vs. Japanese Whale (Dolphin) slaughter at the Japanese Embassy on September 2006"
On September 2006, PAWS joined the world-wide rally against whale slaughtering and went in front of the Philippine Japanese Embassy during the Japan Dolphin Day. More than 20,000 whales were said to be deliberately slaughtered by Japan because they allegedly eat too much fish. These fishes were the ones that the Japanese fishermen were after. [http://animatica.multiply.com/photos/album/30 Marian's Site - Japan Dolphin Day - Sept. 20 ] ]

Affiliations

PAWS works closely with local as well as international animal welfare organizations.

On the local front, it works with Earth Island Institute Phils (EII-Phils) on marine mammal welfare issues, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)- Asia Pacific on protests against wild animals being used for entertainment and the dog tethering issue. PAWS also sits in the Committee on Animal Welfare (CAW) under the DA-BAI where it coordinates with 13 other agencies tasked to come up with Implementing Rules and Regulations on the Animal Welfare Act (RA 8485). Among the members of CAW are government agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR}, NMIS and professional groups such as Veterinary Practitioners' Association of the Philippines, among others. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

On the international front, PAWS is the only local animal welfare group associated with all these four international animal welfare organizations: Animals Asia Foundation (1998), RSPCA of UK (1998), Humane Society International (1998) and the ppWorld Society for the Protection of Animals] (2005). [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

It is important to note that while PAWS occasionally gets grants from international organizations on specific education and campaign projects, it is a local, Filipino volunteer-based organization. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

PAWS Board members are all Filipinos who are able to raise barely enough funds for the operation of its shelter mainly by organizing local pet events and selling merchandise that its volunteers make. [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.paws.org.ph PAWS official website]
* [http://animaladvocates.multiply.com/feed.rss PAWS multiply.com account]
* [http://www.animalsasia.org PAWS is mentioned here among the links]
* [http://mefindhome.blogspot.com More information for PAWS]
* [http://babybranny.multiply.com More information for PAWS]

ee also

*Animal Welfare