|
BAGUIO CITY: Six people illegally selling dog meat
have been arrested and are facing up to four years jail in a fresh
crackdown in the North, officials said Monday.
Animal rights activists from the
London-based Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) accompanied police as
they raided a public market near the northern mountain city of
Baguio on Sunday.
Police arrested six traders and
confiscated around 260 kilos (570 pounds) of dog meat.
The arrests were the first since
a new law imposing stricter penalties for selling dog meat took
effect on Sunday.
AKF researcher Brando Gegway said
at least a dozen restaurants in Baguio alone openly advertise dog
meat on their menu.
The raids are “all about
protecting the people’s health due to the high risk of rabies from
eating dog meat,” he told reporters.
However, dog meat is a tradition
in many northern tribal cultures, and while the government has tried
to stop the practice, it has persisted over the years.
--AFP
|
