Friday, April 27, 2012

News Update 'He hung a puppy, now he's facing charges

Here's a case that will remind you how you should treat animals and how you should be wary with what you post on Facebook.

Jerzon Senador, who was condemned after pinning his puppy to a clothesline and posting pictures of it online, is now facing charges for animal cruelty.

After almost a year, the Municipal Trial Court of Calamba, Laguna issued a warrant of arrest against Senador for violation of Republic Act 8485 or the Animal Welfare Act, according to a Facebook post of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) on Friday.

However, PAWS said when the police arrived at his home, the teenager was nowhere to be found.

“PAWS was in Calamba, Laguna yesterday for Jerzon Senador's long-delayed arrest, but when police arrived at his Looc address, the accused parents' said that Jerzon Senador has left home and that his present whereabouts are unknown to them,” the Facebook post read.

The animal rights organization is now seeking help to find information leading to his arrest.

Senador uploaded the photos of his helpless puppy in June last year, sparking outrage from netizens.

After being swamped with angry messages, he took the images down and issued a public apology posted on his page, saying, “To all animal lovers and to people all over the world please read this. I would like to ask for forgiveness for the wrong I've done against my dog. I hope you could forgive me and I promise it will never happen again.”

Apparently, his apology was not enough as he must now face the case filed against him by PAWS.

RA 8485 states that upon conviction, Senador will be punished by imprisonment of six months to two years or a fine of P1,000 to P5,000 or both.

In a similar incident, a student from the University of the Philippines, Joseph Carlo Candare, killed a cat inside the campus and bragged about it on his blog in 2009.

Two years after, Candare pleaded guilty and his case was the first successful conviction of someone accused of animal cruelty in the Philippines.