Batangas governor urged to rescue abandoned animals on Taal island

Forty-three of 3,000 horses trapped on Taal Volcano Island were saved before the government declared it a “no man’s land,” throwing the fate of the remaining animals into doubt, despite efforts of animal welfare organizations to rescue them. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines— People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) on Sunday called on Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas to launch a rescue operation and evacuate the remaining animals on Taal island.

The group made the call after Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) lowered the status of Taal Volcano from Alert Level 4 to Alert Level 3 which means that there is “decreased tendency towards hazardous eruption.”

“We’re relieved to hear that the alert level on Taal island has been lowered. We hereby appeal to your office for evacuation teams to be dispatched immediately to Taal island to help evacuate the remaining abandoned animals,” Peta Senior Vice President of International Campaigns Jason Baker told Mandanas in a letter.

Baker said Peta is ready to assist the government in evacuating the remaining horses, dogs, cats, and other abandoned animals still on Taal island.

“We stand ready to assist in the logistics of this rescue operation, having widespread and firsthand knowledge of the area and the horses,” Baker said.

Peta has so far rescued 132 animals since Taal’s status was raised to Alert Level 4 two weeks ago.

The organization said it has also been delivering food and fresh water to the animals still on the island and in the evacuated zone.

After the Taal Volcano erupted last January 12, several residents of Batangas and Cavite — the provinces surrounding the Taal Lake — moved out of their homes, leaving their pets and some animals in the danger zone.

This prompted calls from animal welfare groups and netizens to rescue and call for donations for the abandoned animals.

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