Cavite pound probed over cat cannibalism

A barangay-run animal pound in Dasmariñas, Cavite is under investigation for animal neglect after a video surfaced of cats eating the bodies of their fellow felines.

In a report by Darlene Cay in Unang Balita on Wednesday, a concerned resident made the grisly discovery after she went to the pound to help her friend find a pet cat.

"Natataranta na ako kasi first time ko na makakita ng ganon. Galit na galit ako, umiyak talaga ako doon, humagulgol ako," said Yvette Mayo, the resident who took and shared the video.

(I became confused because it was the first time I saw something like that. I was very angry and upset. I ended up crying.)

Yvette suspected that the cats in the pound were not adequately fed, so they could do nothing but eat each other. Based on the video, some cats appeared weak, their water bowls were dirty and there was no food inside their cages either.

Yvette said they talked to the barangay chairman, who agreed to transfer the cats to a shelter, but he said she was shocked when the 20 cats were released the next day.

Still, the barangay captain maintains they did not abandon the cats and fed them twice daily.

"Ang katotohanan po niyan may dalawa akong tagapag-alaga ng mga pusa, kasi hindi naman po talaga namin mababantayan 24 oras so nung napapansin nila pag pinapakain nag-aaway-away 'yung mga pusa," said Barangay San Jose Chairman Jeff Frani.

(The truth is that I have two caretakers of the cats but we still can't watch them for 24 hours, so when they noticed the cats being fed they would end up fighting.)

The people at the cat pound suspected that three cats died because of fighting. They said the more aggressive ones ate the dead cats.

According to the veterinarian Dr. Ferds Recio, extreme hunger may be the reason for the cannibalistic behavior. He said that cats are natural hunters.

"Puwedeng it is because of starvation, because wala nang ibang pagkain. It is also true na papatayin nila 'yung kasama nila for them to eat. Hindi ibig sabihin na one hundred percent wala silang makain kaya papatayin nila ang kasama. Puwede naman 'yun pero it is not one hundred percent sure," Recio said.

(It can be due t starvation since they don't have any food. It is also true that they will kill their fellow cats for them to eat. It doesn't mean that one hundred percent they have nothing to eat, so they will kill their partner. It is possible, but it is not one hundred percent sure.)

If it is proven that cats were neglected or abused, the barangay officials can be held responsible for violating the Animal Welfare Act.

"Nananawagan kami sa mga tao (we are calling on people) who have personal knowledge about animal cruelty to step forward to do an affidavit sa law enforcement natin," said Anna Cabrera, executive director of Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).

She also noted that PAWS gives free legal assistance.

The Dasmariñas City Veterinary Office has already visited the cat pound to determine whether there really was negligence.

"As an immediate mitigation, we asked na temporarily, i-hold na muna niya ang kaniyang impounding until maayos namin ang system nila and also ma-brief namin ang mga workers niya roon," said city veterinarian Dr. Andrew Buencamino.

(As an immediate mitigation, we asked that he temporarily hold his impounding until we fix their system, and also, we can brief his workers there.)—Sherylin Untalan/RF, GMA Integrated News