A pet lover may face a maximum penalty of imprisonment of not more than a month or be fined P5, 000 or both if he/she failed to bury his/her dead dog or cat at the place where the remains of lifeless animals should be laid to rest.
The penalty forms part the provisions contained in the approved Ordinance 2022-042 of the City Government of Naga that aims to prevent dead animals to be thrown in trash or disposed as garbage, a situation that can compromise the health conditions of the public.
Based on the ordinance, the following acts constitute illegal/improper disposal of a dead animal: Throwing it along the roadside, in the river, setting it on fire or burning it, dumping it in the trash or garbage area, burying it without clearance from the barangay hall that has jurisdiction over the place where burial will be made. For this purpose, the Punong Barangay shall coordinate with the City Veterinary Office.
Authored by City Councilor Joselito S.A. Del Rosario and counterpart City Youth Councilor Francine Majella R. Papa, the measure mandates the establishment of a pet park and cemetery in the city, provides guidelines for its implementation, and prohibits improper disposal of the remains of dead animals.
The pet park, the place where pet animals may freely roam, is located at the Naga City Civic Center which is subjected to further improvement while the pet cemetery, the place where remains of dead animals in the city shall be buried, has yet to be determined from among the sites presented.
Del Rosario, head of the Committee on Public Utilities at the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), observed the increasing number of dogs and cats in the city – domestic or house-trained – including the astray ones.
“In more practical terms, a pet cemetery provides a venue for disposing of small creatures like cats and dogs that can also be victims of accidents, or for small animals that, stray or not and for one reason or another, need to be humanely terminated and buried,” he said.
Del Rosario also said that: “What is clear is that we do need a place where, in the event of their pet’s demise, owners bury them in a manner that is sanitary and allows them to properly grieve for their beloved wards.”
The Committee on Pet and Cemetery, which is headed by the city veterinarian, will present to the SP the site where the proposed cemetery will be constructed in not less than two months’ time from the date of the enactment of the ordinance.
The ordinance’s penalty clause include:
First offense – Community service for ten days to be supervised by the barangay where the offender resides. A certification attesting to the completion of such service shall be issued thereafter.
Second offense – A fine of P300.00 and/or imprisonment of not more than 15 days or both, at the discretion of the court;
Third offense – A fine of P5, 000 and/or imprisonment of not more than 1 month, at the court’s discretion.
