Rescue group slams UPLB memo on stray animals

MANILA, Philippines — An animal rescue group called for “systemic change” as it expressed concern over a directive issued by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) prohibiting security guards from feeding or sheltering stray animals.

“Stray animals will not simply disappear because we stop feeding them or drive them away,” the Philippine Animal Rescue Team (P.A.R.T.) said, pointing out that “we need to address the root of the problem, not simply label the animals as the problem or move them out of sight.”

The memorandum, issued by UPLB Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Eric Paul Peralta, stressed that “Internal Security Guards are assigned to ensure the security and safety of buildings, not to allow the premises under their watch to become shelters, hangout areas, or feeding grounds for stray animals.”

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While P.A.R.T. said it understands that institutions have rules, responsibilities and concerns about safety and sanitation, it asserted that prohibiting people from feeding or sheltering stray animals does not address why the animals are there in the first place.

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“Again, the response should be systemic change. Accessible and sustained spay and neuter programs, responsible pet ownership, stronger enforcement of animal welfare laws, and widespread public education,” it said.

READ: UPLB stray animal policy draws criticism

For P.A.R.T., animals should not have to suffer because of human entitlement, “as though we own this earth and have the right to decide which lives are allowed to exist in the spaces we occupy.”

“They did not create the problem of overpopulation, abandonment, and neglect. Humans did.

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“The solution is not to make stray animals disappear. It is to change the human behavior and systemic failures that keep creating them,” it said.

READ: UPLB official defends stray animal memo, cites student safety

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Janette Malata-Silva, UPLB’s vice chancellor for student affairs, explained in a Facebook post that the “directive did not arise out of nowhere,” saying that while they “can see the genuine care our community shows for the animals that share our grounds,” people should view reality through a complete and more grounded lens.

Malata-Silva, who had personally sat with students and families dealing with the aftermath of campus incidents involving dog bites and physical accidents, said that in recent months, her office had directly assisted students who suffered such injuries. /dm