Street dogs, like this one photographed in Malaybalay City in June 2015, are a common sight in the Philippines. MindaNews file photo by H. MARCOS C. MORDENO
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 23 October) – At least 46,000 individuals have signed as of Monday afternoon an online petition against the closure order of the city government on the Happy Animals Club, a local shelter for rescued animals in Davao City.
The “Petition Against the Unjust Closure of Happy Animals Club Shelter in Davao, Philippines” was put up on change.org last October 18 by Pawssion Project Foundation Inc. founder Malou Perez to express alarm over the closure of the shelter. It urged the local government to conduct an “immediate reevaluation” and a thorough reassessment of the decision.
“We, the undersigned, are deeply troubled and alarmed by the unjust order to close the Happy Animals Club shelter in Davao. This shelter, which began as the selfless effort of a young boy named Ken, has transformed countless lives of stray animals and stands as a testament to the power of compassion in our community,” the petition reads.
It said that the unexpected directive to shutdown the facility “seems to overlook the shelter’s widespread and invaluable contributions to our community.”
Leah Daño, shelter spokesperson, told MindaNews on Monday that the local government padlocked the shelter last October 13 in response to complaints on the noise and foul odor from the facility.
She denied claims of the City Health Office (CHO) that an inspector was denied entry to the shelter.
“This is 100% not true. No city inspector was denied entry on any date. No city inspector even asked to inspect what’s inside (the facility) until Friday. We are baffled why the city government statement would contain such lies. Maybe they were misinformed by the City Health (Office). Or maybe this is an intentional effort to tarnish our reputation,” Daño said.
During an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) last Friday, Luzviminda Paig, division chief of the CHO’s Environmental Sanitation Division, claimed that an inspector was denied entry to the facility during inspections conducted last May 26 and July 31.
She said the management failed to comply with the recommendations of the CHO to address the “foul odor and noise nuisance.”
Daño said the sanitary orders issued on July 31 and August 24 required the “transfer of the dogs to an appropriate area.”
She said it was a “sanitary order masquerading as an eviction order” that is impossible to comply.
But after an inspection last October 20, Daño said the CHO recommended, among others, putting up a septic tank in the facility.
The shelter is willing to comply on the construction of a septic tank, she added.
Daño said the management hoped the local government would lift the closure order on the shelter, which houses at least 300 rescued and rehabilitated animals.
Paig said that there was no recommendation from the CHO to confiscate and kill the rescued animals.
However, Daño said that an official from the Business Bureau warned the management that their case will go to the City Legal Office and that a request will be made to the City Veterinarian’s Office to confiscate the animals.
“Maybe it hasn’t reached that stage yet but the Business Bureau was clear that that will happen if we continue operating (by) taking care of the animals in our care,” she said.
In a statement, Ken Amante, founder of the Happy Animals Club, said that he was grateful for the outpouring of support given to their cause.
“Make no mistake, those who want the shelter shut down are hoping that the outcry will die down, and this whole thing will blow over. I’m not going to let that happen. I will be posting appeal after appeal until the closure order, which is completely baseless, is reversed,” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
