Three men in South Sanitary Camp, Baguio City were arrested for slaughtering and cooking dog meat.

The resident reported the incident to the police after witnessing the suspects slaughtering dogs and preparing the meat.

"Animal lover ako, tapos ganoon lang gagawin sa aso; gagawing pagkain," the resident said.

"Kinaumagahan naamoy niya at nakita niya nga itong tatlo. Na-confirm niya na katay na mga aso," PMAJ Harriet Bulcio of the Baguio City Police Office said.

The suspects face charges under the Animal Welfare Act, which could result in imprisonment for one to three years and a fine.

Bulcio said the seized meat has been certified by the Veterinary Office as dog meat.

"Napa-certify na rin natin siya sa Veterinary office ‘yung allegedly dog meat, ‘yun nga may certification na dog meat talaga siya," she said.

DOG MEAT SALE MISUNDERSTANDING

In La Trinidad, Benguet, the Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) received information via social media about the alleged sale of live dogs and dog meat.

They investigated and found that the signage indicating dog meat was misleading.

According to the Provincial Veterinary Office, the owner was selling pets, not dog meat.

"Mali lang ‘yung message na nilagay doon. But they are actually selling rabbit meat at ‘yung mga aso na nakita daw doon are actually their pets. What they are selling are the puppies before nung mga pets na ‘yun," Atty. Heidi Marquez-Caguioa, AKF President and Program Director, said.

The AKF clarified that the signage was a literal translation and was misleading.

They thanked netizens for raising awareness about animal cruelty and dog meat trading but reminded them to verify information online.

"The reminder there is to be more sensitive [and] to be more accurate. I cannot say anything else to just be careful on advertising kasi nga you will be misconstrued. Kung hindi talaga totoo ‘yan, nagki-create ito ng misconstruction [at] wrong interpretation," Caguioa said.