Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines

Tenth Congress

Republic Act No. 8485             February 11, 1998

AN ACT TO PROMOTE ANIMAL WELFARE IN THE PHILIPPINES, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

Section 1. It is the purpose of this Act to protect and promote the welfare of all animals in the
Philippines by supervising and regulating the establishment and operations of all facilities utilized for
breeding, maintaining, keeping, treating or training of all animals either as objects of trade or as
household pets. For purposes of this Act, pet animal shall include birds.

Section 2. No person, association, partnership, corporation, cooperative or any government agency
or instrumentality including slaughter houses shall establish, maintain and operate any pet shop,
kennel, veterinary clinic, veterinary hospital, stockyard, corral, stud farm or stock farm or zoo for the
breeding, treatment, sale or trading, or training of animals without first securing from the Bureau of
Animal Industry a certificate of registration therefor.

The certificate shall be issued upon proof that the facilities of such establishment for animals are
adequate, clean and sanitary and will not be used for, nor cause pain and/or suffering to the animals.
The certificate shall be valid for a period of one (1) year unless earlier cancelled for just cause before
the expiration of its term by the Director of the Bureau of Animal Industry and may be renewed from
year to year upon compliance with the conditions imposed hereunder. The Bureau shall charge
reasonable fees for the issuance or renewal of such certificate.

The condition that such facilities be adequate, clean and sanitary, and that they will not be used for
nor cause pain and/or suffering to the animals is a continuing requirement for the operation of these
establishments. The Bureau may revoke or cancel such certificate of registration for failure to
observe these conditions and other just causes.

Section 3. The Director of the Bureau of Animal Industry shall supervise and regulate the
establishment, operation and maintenance of pet shops, kennels, veterinary clinics, veterinary
hospitals, stockyards, corrals, stud farms and zoos and any other form or structure for the
confinement of animals where they are bred, treated, maintained, or kept either for sale or trade or
for training as well as the transport of such animals in any form of public or private transportation
facility in order to provide maximum comfort while in transit and minimize, if not totally eradicate,
incidence of sickness and death and prevent any cruelty from being inflicted upon the animals.

The Director may call upon any government agency for assistance consistent with its powers, duties,
and responsibilities for the purpose of ensuring the effective and efficient implementation of this Act
and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
It shall be the duty of such government agency to assist said Director when called upon for
assistance using any available fund in its budget for the purpose.

Section 4. It shall be the duty of any owner or operator of any land, air or water public utility
transporting pet, wildlife and all other animals to provide in all cases adequate, clean and sanitary
facilities for the safe conveyance and delivery thereof to their consignee at the place of consignment.
They shall provide sufficient food and water for such animals while in transit for more than twelve
(12) hours or whenever necessary.

No public utility shall transport any such animal without a written permit from the Director of the
Bureau of Animal Industry or his/her authorized representative. No cruel confinement or restraint
shall be made on such animals while being transported.

Any form of cruelty shall be penalized even if the transporter has obtained a permit from the Bureau
of Animal Industry. Cruelty in transporting includes overcrowding, placing of animals in the trunks or
under the hood trunks of the vehicles.

Section 5. There is hereby created a Committee on Animal Welfare attached to the Department of
Agriculture which shall, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture,
issue the necessary rules and regulations for the strict implementation of the provisions of this Act,
including the setting of safety and sanitary standards, within thirty (30) calendar days following its
approval. Such guidelines shall be reviewed by the Committee every three (3) years from its
implementation or whenever necessary.

The Committee shall be composed of the official representatives of the following:

(1) The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG);

(2) Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS);

(3) Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Department of Agriculture (DA);

(4) Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR);

(5) National Meat Inspection Commission (NMIC) of the DA;

(6) Agriculture Training Institute (ATI) of the DA;

(7) Philippine Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA);

(8) Veterinary Practitioners Association of the Philippines (VPAP);

(9) Philippine Animal Hospital Association of the Philippines (PAHA);

(10) Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS);

(11) Philippine Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA);

(12) Philippine Society of Swine Practitioners (PSSP);

(14) Philippine Society of Animal Science (PSAS).

The Committee shall be chaired by a representative coming from the private sector and shall have
two (2) vice-chairpersons composed of the representative of the BAI and another from the private
sector.

The Committee shall meet quarterly or as often as the need arises. The Committee members shall
not receive any compensation but may receive reasonable honoraria from time to time.

Section 6. It shall be unlawful for any person to torture any animal, to neglect to provide adequate
care, sustenance or shelter, or maltreat any animal or to subject any dog or horse to dogfights or
horsefights, kill or cause or procure to be tortured or deprived of adequate care, sustenance or
shelter, or maltreat or use the same in research or experiments not expressly authorized by the
Committee on Animal Welfare.

The killing of any animal other than cattle pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer
and crocodiles is likewise hereby declared unlawful except in the following instances:

(1) When it is done as part of the religious rituals of an established religion or sect or a ritual
required by tribal or ethnic custom of indigenous cultural communities; however, leaders
shall keep records in cooperation with the Committee on Animal Welfare;

(2) When the pet animal is afflicted with an incurable communicable disease as determined
and certified by a duly licensed veterinarian;

(3) When the killing is deemed necessary to put an end to the misery suffered by the animal
as determined and certified by a duly licensed veterinarian;

(4) When it is done to prevent an imminent danger to the life or limb of a human being;

(5) When done for the purpose of animal population control;

(6) When the animal is killed after it has been used in authorized research or experiments;
and

(7) Any other ground analogous to the foregoing as determined and certified licensed
veterinarian.

In all the above mentioned cases, including those of cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits,
carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles the killing of the animals shall be done through humane
procedures at all times.

For this purpose, humane procedures shall mean the use of the most scientific methods available as
may be determined and approved by the committee.

Only those procedures approved by the Committee shall be used in the killing of animals.
Section 7. It shall be the duty of every person to protect the natural habitat of the wildlife. The
destruction of said habitat shall be considered as a form of cruelty to animals and its preservation is
a way of protecting the animals.

Section 8. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction by final
judgment, be punished by imprisonment of not less than six (6) months nor more than two (2) years
or a fine of not less than One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) nor more than Five thousand pesos
(P5,000.00) or both at the discretion of the Court. If the violation is committed by a juridical person,
the officer responsible therefor shall serve the imprisonment when imposed. If the violation is
committed by an alien, he or she shall be immediately deported after service of sentence without any
further proceedings.

Section 9. All laws, acts, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 10. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at least two (2)
newspapers of general circulation.

Approved: February 11, 1998

Republic of the Philippines

Fifteenth Congress
Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two thousand twelve.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10631

AN ACT AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8485, OTHERWISE KNOWN
AS "THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT OF 1998″

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

Section 1. Section 1 of Republic Act No. 8485 is hereby amended to read as follows;

"SECTION 1. It is the purpose of this Act to protect and promote the welfare of all terrestrial,
aquatic and marine animals in the Philippines by supervising and regulating the
establishment and operations of all facilities utilized for breeding, maintaining, keeping,
treating or training of all animals either as objects of trade or as household pets. For
purposes of this Act, pet animal shall include birds.

"For purposes of this Act, animal welfare pertains to the physical and psychological well-
being of animals. It includes, but not limited to, the avoidance of abuse, maltreatment, cruelty
and exploitation of animals by humans by maintaining appropriate standards of
accommodation, feeding and general care, the prevention and treatment of disease and the
 assurance of freedom from fear, distress, harassment, and unnecessary discomfort and
pain, and allowing animals to express normal behavior."

Section 2. Section 6 of Republic Act No. 8485 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 6. It shall be unlawful for any person to torture any animal, to neglect to provide
adequate care, sustenance of shelter, or maltreat any animal or to subject any dog or horse
to dogfights or horsefights, kill or cause or procure to be tortured or deprived of adequate
care, sustenance or shelter, or maltreat or use the same in research or experiments not
expressly authorized by the Committee on Animal Welfare.

"The killing of any animal other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos and
horses is likewise hereby declared unlawful except in the following instances:

"x x x."

Section 3. A new Section 7 is hereby inserted after Section 6 of the same Act to read as follows:

"SEC. 7. It shall be unlawful for any person who has custody of an animal to abandon the
animal.

"If any person being the owner or having charge or control of any animal shall without
reasonable cause or excuse abandon it, whether permanently or not, without providing for
the care of that animal, such act shall constitute maltreatment under Section 9.

"If the animal is left in circumstances likely to cause the animal any unnecessary suffering, or
if this abandonment results in the death of the animal, the person liable shall suffer the
maximum penalty.

"Abandonment means the relinquishment of all right, title, claim, or possession of the animal
with the intention of not reclaiming it or resuming its ownership or possession."

Section 4. Section 8 of Republic Act No. 8485 which shall now become Section 9 is hereby
amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 9. Any person who subjects any animal to cruelty, maltreatment or neglect shall, upon
conviction by final judgment, be punished by imprisonment and/ or fine, as indicated in the
following graduated scale:

"(1) Imprisonment of one (1) year and six (6) months and one (1) day to two (2) years
and/or a fine not exceeding One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) if the
animal subjected to cruelty, maltreatment or neglect dies;

"(2) Imprisonment of one (1) year and one (1) day to one (1) year and six (6) months
and/or a fine not exceeding Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) if the animal
subjected to cruelty, maltreatment or neglect survives but is severely injured with loss
of its natural faculty to survive on its own and needing human intervention to sustain
its life; and
 "(3) Imprisonment of six (6) months to one (1) year and/or a fine not exceeding Thirty
thousand pesos (P30,000.00) for subjecting any animal to cruelty, maltreatment or
neglect but without causing its death or incapacitating it to survive on its own.

"If the violation is committed by a juridical person, the officer responsible thereof shall serve
the imprisonment. If the violation is committed by an alien, he or she shall be immediately
deported after the service of sentence without any further proceeding.

"The foregoing penalties shall also apply for any other violation of this Act, depending upon
the effect or result of the act or omission as defined in the immediately preceding sections.

"However, regardless of the resulting condition to the animal/s, the penalty of two (2) years
and one (1) day to three (3) years and/or a fine not exceeding Two hundred fifty thousand
pesos (P250,000.00) shall be imposed if the offense is committed by any of the following: (1)
a syndicate; (2) an offender who makes business out of cruelty to an animal; (3) a public
officer or employee; or (4) where at least three (3) animals are involved.

"In any of the foregoing situations, the offender shall suffer subsidiary imprisonment in case
of insolvency and the inability to pay the fine."

Section 5. A new Section 10 is hereby inserted after the Section above to read as follows:

"SEC. 10. The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture shall deputize animal welfare
enforcement officers from nongovernment organizations, citizens groups, community
organizations and other volunteers who have undergone the necessary training for this
purpose. The Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation and other law
enforcement agencies shall designate animal welfare enforcement officers. As such, animal
welfare enforcement officers shall have the authority to seize and rescue illegally traded and
maltreated animals and to arrest violators of this Act subject to the guidelines of existing laws
and rules and regulations on arrest and detention.

"The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture shall, upon the recommendation of the
Committee on Animal Welfare:

"(1) Promulgate the guidelines on the criteria and training requirements for the
deputization of animal welfare enforcement officers; and

"(2) Establish a mechanism for the supervision, monitoring and reporting of these
enforcement officers."

Section 6. If, for any reason, any provision of this Act is declared to be unconstitutional or invalid,
the other sections or provisions hereof which are not affected shall continue to be in full force and
effect.

Section 7. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations and other issuances or parts thereof
which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby deemed repealed, amended or
modified accordingly.

Section 8. This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its publication in the Official
Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation, whichever comes earlier.