A PAWssionate and resPAWnsible UPLB community.
This is the vision that was put forward by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs (OVCCA) at the UPLB Responsible Pet Ownership (RPO) and Stray Animal Management (SAM) seminar held via virtual conferencing on April 14.
Held in partnership with the Compassion for Animals through Service of UPLB Students (CATS of UPLB), the activity sought to refresh the knowledge of UPLB personnel on animal welfare and the relevant laws regarding the management of stray animals on campus.
For his opening message, Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs (VCCA) Roberto P. Cereno thanked and encouraged the participants to help the university maintain a safe, secure, and environment-friendly community. He stressed that the issue of stray animals is a community concern that can be addressed through community involvement.
Leading the first part of the program was CATS of UPLB co-founder and UPLB alumna Chiara Karenina G. Manuel, who introduced the efforts and best practices of their organization in caring for campus community animals.
CATS of UPLB is a recognized organization composed of volunteers and responsible pet owners who believe caring for campus animals is caring for the UPLB community.
Established at the onset of the pandemic, the organization has been proactively managing the domesticated strays on campus through regular feeding, vetting, deworming, and vaccination.
Aside from its extensive screening process for fostering and adoption, the group has also implemented various Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) initiatives with the help of its donors and volunteers.
The second part of the webinar focused on UPLB’s Stray Animal Management Program (SAMP) led by Assistant to the VCCA Benevieve D. Villanueva, who also chairs the SAMP committee under OVCCA.
Villanueva discussed the university’s SAM efforts, including developing a pet database for UPLB housing beneficiaries, conducting the stray animal census, spay and neuter activities, and anti-rabies vaccination drives in collaboration with the College of Veterinary Medicine and other stakeholders.
OVCCA technical staff Engr. Paulo C. Altoveros and Roi Louis F. Mojado cascaded the policies during the webinar as part of the SAMP’s information campaign.
UPLB is set to collaborate with the local government units of Los Baños to deputize UPLB security personnel to apprehend policy violators.
For her closing message, Villanueva thanked CATS of UPLB for the support and urged everyone to be active and responsible in maintaining a safe community that also recognizes the harmonious co-existence of humans and animals.
The OC Memo No. 036 Series of 2023 was crafted based on the Municipal Ordinance No. 2018-1755 or An Ordinance Providing the Prevention and Control of Human and Animal Rabies, Prescribing Penalties for Violation and Appropriating Funds Thereof, Republic Act No. 8485 or Animal Welfare Act of 1998 as amended by Republic Act No. 10631, and Republic Act No. 9482 or Anti-Rabies Act of 2007). (Roi Mojado)
This article was originally published on the UPLB website.