Go after restos serving endangered species, gov't urged

With some restaurants continuing to offer the meat of endangered species on their menus, it is high time the government go after them for violating Philippine laws. International environmental group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said serving such species will violate Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act. WWF said food establishments in the country are illegally selling as food species like giant groupers, dwarf pygmy gobies, whale sharks, basking and zebra sharks, big-eye and blue-fin tuna, giant manta rays, sea turtles and numerous whale and dolphin species. Worse, it said several well-known restaurant chains still offer protected species like Mameng. Under section 23 of RA 9147, the collection of all threatened wildlife is limited for scientific, breeding or propagation purposes. Section 27 meanwhile only allows the killing of endangered species if they are used for religious or indigenous ritual, if they host communicable disease or if they are done for self-defense. WWF also reminded the government that the Philippines is a signatory of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). As such, it said, the Philippines is also bound by an agreement to regulate trade in all species. “Unless special permits are issued by a governing body such as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) or the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB), all trade in endangered species, including consumption and sale - is prohibited," it said. It also said the government should make sure it means business by speeding up the resolution of environmental cases. “The resolution of environmental cases should now be made simpler and faster," it said. Otherwise, it warned that Philippine reefs will no longer remain pristine. “With restaurants still serving endangered species with impunity, we should not be surprised that barely 1% of Philippine reefs remain in pristine condition. 40 million Filipinos rely on the sea for sustenance. The issue is not wildlife conservation. The issue is food," it said. WWF also appealed to businesses "to stop serving all threatened and endangered animals - organisms at risk of becoming extinct because they are either too few in numbers or are threatened by changing environmental or predation factors." "The slaughter and sale of these animals is not only unethical - it is downright illegal under a host of local and international laws," it added. -GMANews.TV