Authorities were surprised to see dead mongrels in a pick up truck that figured in a road accident in Cavite. A car plate found inside the vehicle was traced to La Trinidad, Benguet.
A vehicular accident on Thursday morning led police in Imus City in Cavite province to discover a shipment of freshly butchered dogs believed to be for the underground dogmeat trade.
Supt. Norman Ranon, Imus City police chief, said the truck was intercepted after it hit another vehicle at 12:30 a.m. in Barangay Anabu 2D along Aguinaldo Highway.
The truck driver, however, escaped before the police arrived.
Ranon said policemen were surprised when they opened the truck’s cargo bay and found 72 dead dogs.
“It seemed the animals had just been slaughtered last night since the meat still looked fresh,” Ranon said in a phone interview.
He said the pick-up truck, with plate RFG 527, was registered in Baler town in Aurora province. But police found another plate inside the vehicle, ZGM 395, which was registered in La Trinidad town in Benguet province.
Police have yet to trace the source of the dogmeat but Imus Mayor Emmanuel Maliksi said the local government would ensure that the perpetrators behind the illegal trade would be held liable.
The carcasses were turned over to the city veterinary office for proper disposal.
Republic Act No. 8485 or the Animal Welfare Act of 1998 prohibits the trading of dogmeat. The law states that no animals other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabao, horse, deer and crocodiles may be killed for food, unless it is done as part of a religious ritual.
Killing an animal may be allowed to prevent an imminent danger to humans and to control animal population or if it is afflicted with an incurable communicable disease.