In the Philippines, wildlife pet ownership is common and accepted, even though it is illegal. At the WIN Rescue Center, over a third of our unreleasable animals were confiscated from the pet trade including several long-tailed macques, cloud rats, serpent eagle, and all of our civets – 3 of which were severely and permanently injured by cruel snares. Wildlife held as pets suffer terribly from poor diets, deplorable housing conditions, and insensitive treatment. One of our macaques, Robin, came to us with 2 broken teeth. He was punched in the face by a drunken man while chained outside his owner’s home. To educate the public and raise awareness about this illegal and inhumane practice, WIN has launched our KEEP WILDLIFE WILD campaign. We have designed a poster that is distributed in both English and Tagalog that highlights the suffering of these animals and encourages everyone to choose a domesticated companion animal instead. WIN also offers presentations to community groups and schools on why we should protect wild animals and why they belong in their own home, not ours.
