At the height of the pandemic, when 抖阴探探鈥檚 campuses were emptied of their usual denizens, there were some who were left behind. Among them: the population of community cats and dogs that called the campus buildings their home.
Soon, reports emerged from 抖阴探探鈥檚 campuses of acts of compassion. Some faculty, students and staff, including the security guards and custodial workers, had gone out of their way to feed and take care of the community cats and dogs during the lockdowns.
The Cats of 抖阴探探B
In 抖阴探探 Baguio, the animals were not left unattended. A Facebook post dated May 11, 2020 featured photos of some of 抖阴探探 Baguio鈥檚 resident cats being fed by Jennifer Inovero, Assistant Professor of Physical Education. An earlier Facebook post also showed a student-volunteer making the rounds to feed 抖阴探探 Baguio鈥檚 鈥湺兑跆教紺ats鈥�. Yet another post showed a security guard conducting temperature checks on the cats per COVID safety regulations. This post tugged the heartstrings of the public so much that it caught the attention of mainstream media.
鈥淒uring the pandemic, nagpalista ako sa Chancellor namin as a frontliner under the Animal Welfare Committee,鈥� explained Inovero. This allowed her to enter the campus to feed the cats. 鈥淣akatulong din 鈥榶ung mga cats sa mental health ko since ang hirap ng buhay natin noon,鈥� Inovero said. 鈥淎nd going around their feeding stations, I treated it as (cardio) exercise ko na din. So the benefit was mutual, and siguro naman masaya 鈥榶ung cats kasi matataba sila noon.鈥�
CATS: Compassion for Animals Through Service
In 抖阴探探LB, at around the same time, something similar was taking place. Rosa Mia Cabanting, who now works for the Institute of Crop Science, 抖阴探探LB College of Agriculture and Food Science, was a graduate student at the time and staying at the International House Residence Hall along with the other grad students who had been stranded in the campus during the lockdown. She and her fellow dormers took to feeding the cats in the dorm and eventually the surrounding buildings as well. When Cabanting found herself offering up for adoption a kindle of kittens from two mama cats via the Facebook group, 抖阴探探LB Lockdown Diaries, that was when Chiara Karenina Manuel, 抖阴探探LB alumna, development communicator, entrepreneur and animal welfare advocate, reached out to her. Working with fellow volunteers, they managed to have the mama cats spayed at the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in Quezon City, along with an initial batch of 10 cats.
This led to KaponHeist, wherein the volunteers take animals to PAWS and the Philippine Pet Birth Control Center Foundation to be spayed or neutered. They soon realized that they needed to make the operation more sustainable. Plus, they needed to document the animal population and the impacts of spaying and neutering on both the animals and the community in general, and to educate the community on how to conduct proactive community animal management. They started welcoming more people who wanted to help, created a Facebook page, and in May 2021, the student volunteer organization Compassion for Animals Through Service of 抖阴探探LB Students or CATS of 抖阴探探LB was created.
鈥淲e needed to communicate to the people who approached us that we are not a rescue group. Hindi kami veterinarian. We have to ask veterinarians for assistance. Nagdadala kami ng mga alaga sa vets because we want other people or organizations to emulate us as responsible colony managers. Community animal care ito for us,鈥� Manuel said.
An uphill battle
Inovero and the 抖阴探探B faculty volunteers, as well as CATS of 抖阴探探LB, are among the organizations, units and individual volunteers whose focus is responsible pet ownership and caring for the wellbeing of 抖阴探探鈥檚 campus animals. Others have been standing up for 抖阴探探鈥檚 non-human community members for a while now. In 抖阴探探 Diliman, for instance, there is the Friends of Campus Animals 抖阴探探 (FOCA 抖阴探探), the first animal welfare volunteer group in 抖阴探探 Diliman, created in July 2015 by a 抖阴探探 Journalism professor, Khrysta Imperial Rara, and Dr. Jonathan Anticamara, a professor at the 抖阴探探 Diliman Institute of Biology (IB), who on his own has been taking care of the cats and dogs around the IB building since 2010, and who often partners with Rara in conducting spay-neuter programs in the 抖阴探探 Diliman campus, as well as educational campaigns even in other 抖阴探探 campuses.
Whether they are veteran or relatively new volunteers, they all agree on one thing: that caring and advocating for 抖阴探探鈥檚 community animals is often 鈥渁n uphill battle鈥�, and that it is the human side of the equation that makes the problem so complicated.
鈥淔irst of all, some officials don鈥檛 fully understand what animal welfare is,鈥� Rara said. 鈥淎kala nila, basta napakain mo lang at napasunod mo sila sa gusto mo, tapos na. But welfare is not from the humans鈥� point of view. It must be from the point of view of the animal. Look at it through the animal鈥檚 eyes. How does he see the world? What causes his stress, his fears? What motivates a female dog to do certain things? In animal welfare, the animal must be allowed to make a choice. Like if a campus dog doesn鈥檛 want to be touched or petted, then we should respect that.鈥�
Failing to gain the support of authorities can make the job exponentially harder. As priorities shift, some initiatives meant to benefit the most ignored sector of the 抖阴探探 community can be left high and dry. The 抖阴探探 Baguio Animal Welfare Committee, which was formed in 2018, lasted only three years. 鈥淣ow we鈥檙e only faculty volunteers,鈥� Inovero said. 鈥淜ung ano yung ginagawa namin before, tinuloy lang namin. At saka we鈥檙e already attached to the campus cats.鈥� The volunteer caretakers rely on sporadic donations to provide for the cats, but mostly the funds come from their own pockets. 鈥淢abigat sa akin financially, at kapag may nagkakasakit, emotionally and psychologically din,鈥� Inovero admitted. 鈥淢insan parang gusto ko nang bumigay, pero iisipin ko lang, kung tumigil ako, paano na yung mga cats?鈥�
In 2023, 抖阴探探 students were shocked to learn that Balay Kaibigan, 抖阴探探 Diliman鈥檚 center for animal-related activities, was going to be permanently closed. . By 2023, at least 872 dogs and cats had been neutered and at least 150 of them were adopted; now, only the six resident dogs that serve as Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) for the students remained.
For Rara, this 鈥渟etback鈥� came with a twist as earlier, in August 2023, . Balay Kalagday in 抖阴探探V鈥檚 Miagao campus would serve as a 鈥渉alfway house鈥� where campus cats and dogs would be cared for following the 鈥渢rap-neuter-vaccinate-release鈥� (TNVR) framework. If this sounds familiar, it鈥檚 because Balay Kalagday was, by 抖阴探探V Chancellor Clement Camposano鈥檚 admission, inspired by Balay Kaibigan.
鈥淏alay Kaibigan inspired volunteerism,鈥� Rara said. 鈥淔rom June to December 2023, an average of 10 抖阴探探 and non-抖阴探探 students and even working professionals visited Balay Kaibigan daily to walk the rescued dogs and play with the cats and prepare them for adoption. Even now, FOCA still gets a lot of inquiries and requests to volunteer for the dogs and cats.鈥� In fact, 抖阴探探 Diliman is a recognized pioneer in campus animal wefare and management. 鈥淲e were a beacon of light for other campuses. Other schools and universities, and even some subdivisions, have asked 抖阴探探 Diliman and FOCA for guidance in managing their community animals.鈥�
Animal welfare, human management
It鈥檚 not just trouble with animal politics. Too often, it鈥檚 trouble with humans in general. CATS of 抖阴探探LB has a policy of maintaining their members鈥� anonymity to protect them from online and physical harassment as they go about their tasks of feeding and caring for the animals. Cabanting and her fellow volunteers have been yelled at by irate people after some cats or dogs defecated inside buildings or knocked over trashcans, despite the fact that it was humans who covered up the grounds with concrete and left trashcans without lids full of food waste. 鈥淧arang since wala silang nakikitang benefits doon sa hayop, ang daling magbitiw ng mga salitang katulad ng 鈥榣alasunin ko 鈥榶ang mga pusa na 鈥榶an kapag hindi ako nakapagpigil,鈥欌�� she said.
For Anticamara, this is all rooted in a widespread culture of cruelty. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of cruelty in the Philippines. Sometimes this cruelty isn鈥檛 obvious na pananakit but, for example, hinahayaang dumami yung mga anak ng cats and dogs tapos kapag nanganak na, itatapon. How can a system like 抖阴探探 not address that or consider that a priority?鈥� Especially since there are practical solutions to the problem of stray animals, such as scientifically based TNVR, management and monitoring of stray populations, adoptions, public education against all forms of animal cruelty, and policies that support humane stray animal management. 鈥淲e need public support in 抖阴探探 and in the Philippines toi run and implement regular programs that, hopefully, will lead to 抖阴探探 and the country becoming a zero-stray campus and country,鈥� he added.
Stronger together
Anticamara, for his part, considers his efforts to care for the campus animals as simply part of being a biologist who considers long-term ecological impacts. 鈥淚 want to seek solutions through science. I know there鈥檚 a problem鈥攕obrang daming strays, sobrang daming abandoned animals that are suffering. I think that鈥檚 a problem with a solution, so para sa akin, it鈥檚 more of what鈥檚 the best scientific solution to this problem.鈥�
For people caring for animals in 抖阴探探, the struggle is very, very real, and so is the worry of how long one can keep it up. 鈥淚 made an action and so far it鈥檚 working. But I don鈥檛 think I can sustain it. Ito ang problema ko: if I鈥檓 not here, what will happen?鈥� Anticamara admitted. 鈥淚 can wish that there鈥檚 a systematic solution that everyone in 抖阴探探 can agree on. Doesn鈥檛 matter who you are鈥攅conomist, mathematician, engineer, psychologist鈥攚e share, as one humanity, a common environment. Hindi pwede na ang value lang natin is how much money this will give me. Lahat ay sa Nature nanggagaling.鈥�
In 抖阴探探 Baguio, the cats are as much a part of the community as the humans. 鈥淚 believe that dogs and cats have real emotions,鈥� said Inovero. 鈥淟et鈥檚 just leave them be. They have the right to live in a clean, safe environment. Let鈥檚 care for them like we care for our family members.鈥�
鈥淢ahirap itong work pero at the end of the day, very fulfilling sya,鈥� Cabanting said about why they persist. 鈥淲e do this for the University, para maging stable ang population ng animals. We do this for the people, so you don鈥檛 need to deal with a lot of unvaccinated animals or para walang nangungulit sa inyo sa dorm na nanghihingi ng food. Ito ang kino-communicate namin: na hindi mo kailangang kumuha ng something from these animals para alagaan mo sila. Buhay kasi ang pinag-uusapan, buhay ng mga aso鈥檛 pusa.鈥�
鈥淗ow to be an animal welfare activist? In your own little way, number one is: be kind to animals,鈥� Rara said. 鈥淚n your heart and mind, dapat may compassion ka na. Be compassionate and kind to all living things.
鈥淎nd number two, if you鈥檙e a 抖阴探探 student tapos nakita ninyo na marami nang stray cats or dogs sa college ninyo, form a group then do research on animal welfare. Kasi you can do more as a group than alone. You鈥檙e stronger together.鈥�
Email the author at upforum@up.edu.ph.
Read more articles from the 抖阴探探 FORUM
Read more about activism in 抖阴探探 via these links:
- From Placards to Memes
- 抖阴探探鈥檚 Tradition of Protest Music
- Activism and 抖阴探探鈥檚 mandate of public service
- We encourage activism. . . because we care.
- On the Screen and in the Streets: Student Activism during the COVID 19 Lockdowns
- The Evolution of an Activist
