Most democratic countries have stringent animal welfare laws in place to protect both wild and domesticated animals. Wild animals are protected by law to preserve their population numbers living in natural habitat. Legislation also protects domesticated animals farmed for food and other produce from acts of cruelty and unnecessary suffering as are pets and animals kept in zoos. The maltreatment of animals for research or scientific purposes is also unlawful and subject to imprisonment/and or fines in most western countries. Animal abuse and cruelty can take many forms as in the bizarre case in the Philippines when a La Union couple was jailed in 2012 for producing vile fetish videos showing live animals being crushed to death. In 1998, the Animal Welfare Act was enacted in the Philippines to protect terrestrial, aquatic or marine animals from any circumstances likely to cause them unnecessary suffering, or neglect. The successful prosecution of the La Union couple was a small but significant victory for animal rights in the Philippines and demonstrated that the courts took these matters very seriously, and any perpetrators of acts of cruelty or suffering to animals could expect to feel the full force of Filipino law. But making it law doesn't necessarily mean that it is enforced, especially when officials and police in this impoverished country are often bribed to turn a blind eye to illegal practices. Inroads are being made into wildlife conservation simply because native fauna need to be protected to attract much needed tourist dollars. Animals are an important and vital natural resource, and should be treated with the same respect, regard and care that we afford ourselves as human beings. Animals do not have a voice, and therefore it is up to us to enforce the laws that protect their rights as animals and to provide the necessary care that ensures their wellbeing now and into the future. It is the duty of every person on this planet to protect the environment, and its destruction is in itself an act of animal cruelty. Jens Ward
Words ④ Wildlife