DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines–Seven people were arrested for butchering 49 dogs in a vacant lot in Malasiqui town, Pangasinan Thursday, police said.
Supt. Policarpio Cayabyab, Malasiqui police chief, said among those arrested were Rino Montano, 50, the group’s financier who is a resident of Baguio City, and Roger Maravilla, the group’s buyer, 47, of San Pedro, Laguna.
Cayabyab said he sent a team of policemen to Barangay Taloy after Melchor Alipio, a member of the Philippine Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA), reported the butchering of dogs in Sitio Dinacuan at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday.
Cayabyab said the team was only able to save 22 of 71 dogs that they found in the area. Forty-nine dogs had been butchered, he said, and 26 of these had been scorched in an open fire.
Cayabyab said Maravilla bought the dogs, which came from different areas in Laguna, for P100 to P200 each.
The dogs were taken to Malasiqui for butchering and were to be sold in Baguio City, where some restaurants and eateries serve dog meat dishes.
Cayabyab said the suspects are facing charges for violation of the Animal Welfare Act of 1998 (Republic Act 8485) and the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007 (RA 9482).