Plan to visit Boracay? Been to Boracay? Love Animals?

Boracay is a beautiful holiday paradise in the Philippines. Locals are friendly and the food is great. Its delightful beaches and resorts make it a very popular destination for travelers to unwind and relax. However, Boracay has a very dark side .....

Using rabies as an excuse, the Mayor and council have unleashed cruel and poorly trained dog catchers upon the stray dogs. Once caught, dogs are confined to the notorious "Dog Pound" where they receive no care, water nor food. The dogs experience no form of human kindness. We obtained firsthand reports corroborating these unacceptable conditions. As the practice goes, the dog catchers intimidate the locals, coercing them to pay higher reclaim fees and thus increasing the dog catchers' income. Some fortunate dogs are nevertheless claimed by their human companions. But, most dogs remain unclaimed because they are homeless or their humans cannot afford the inflated fees.

We want to compel the Mayor to revise his cruel policy by showing him that people care about the humane treatment of animals, that abusing animals will lead to a loss of income and respectability for Boracay. The town will acquire a reputation for hideous animal cruelty and tourism will decline.

The cruel and inhumane conditions in Boracay are, in fact, a violation of the laws of the Philippines as stated in Republic Act (RA) 8485 aka "The Animal Welfare Act" and its amendment RA 10631. Municipal dog pounds fall under these laws. Republic Act 9482 mandates the role of a Local Government Unit (such as the Mayor Yap's office) on population control and recognizes the provisions of RA 8485. Therefore, the Mayor is legally required to uphold animal welfare.

Please sign this petition to show that you care about what happens to those animals!

Here is a link to a video showing a typical dog pound in the Philippines: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8up39pK5ono

References to relevant Philippine Republic Acts:

http://www.paws.org.ph/animal-welfare-act-ra-8485.htm​

http://www.paws.org.ph/ra-10631-amending-certain-sections-of-ra-8485.html​

http://www.paws.org.ph/anti-rabies-act-ra-9482.html

Independent account from 2012:

http://halfwhiteboy.blogspot.nl/2012/03/boracay-and-all-its-crazy-ordinances.html