There are 2 cats involved in this story. One is Tengteng, a month-old feline residing presumably within the UP campus and cared for by someone as evidenced by his leash and a few photos taken of him[1].
And the other, Joseph Carlo Candare, a UP Physics student who tortured and killed Tengteng. In the interest of fair exposure, below are pictures of Mr. Candare[2] –
The 2 fatefully met under gruesome details provided none other than by Mr. Candare himself in a blog entry aptly titled “I killed Schrödinger’s cat”. The blog has been deleted but a snapshot of his blog entry reveals the relevant details below[3] –
That was in 2009. PAWS (Philippine Animal Welfare Society) promptly filed a criminal complaint against Mr. Candare under the Animal Welfare Act (R.A. 8485, February 1998).
In a further show of remorselessness, Mr. Candare failed to show up at trial until a warrant of arrest was issued against him.
Anyway, below are the pertinent sections of RA 8485 pursuant to which Mr. Candare was charged -
Sec. 6. It shall be unlawful for any person to torture any animal, to neglect to provide adequate care, sustenance or shelter, or maltreat any animal or to subject any dog or horse to dogfights or horsefights, kill or cause or procure to be tortured or deprived of adequate care, sustenance or shelter, or maltreat or use the same in research or experiments not expressly authorized by the Committee on Animal Welfare.
The killing of any animal other than cattle pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles is likewise hereby declared unlawful except in the following instances:
(1) When it is done as part of the religious rituals of an established religion or sect or a ritual required by tribal or ethnic custom of indigenous cultural communities; however, leaders shall keep records in cooperation with the Committee on Animal Welfare;
(2) When the pet animal is afflicted with an incurable communicable disease as determined and certified by a duly licensed veterinarian;
(3) When the killing is deemed necessary to put an end to the misery suffered by the animal as determined and certified by a duly licensed veterinarian;
(4) When it is done to prevent an imminent danger to the life or limb of a human being;
(5) When done for the purpose of animal population control;
(6) When the animal is killed after it has been used in authorized research or experiments; and
(7) Any other ground analogous to the foregoing as determined and certified licensed veterinarian.
In all the above mentioned cases, including those of cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles the killing of the animals shall be done through humane procedures at all times.
For this purpose, humane procedures shall mean the use of the most scientific methods available as may be determined and approved by the committee.
Only those procedures approved by the Committee shall be used in the killing of animals.
Sec. 8. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction by final judgment, be punished by imprisonment of not less than six (6) months nor more than two (2) years or a fine of not less than One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) nor more than Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) or both at the discretion of the Court. If the violation is committed by a juridical person, the officer responsible therefor shall serve the imprisonment when imposed. If the violation is committed by an alien, he or she shall be immediately deported after service of sentence without any further proceedings.
Its now 2011 and, finally, there’s a conviction against an animal torturer not engaged in the trade of animals or animal meat. Mr. Candare is just a college student, albeit with what appears to be psychopathic tendencies.
In lieu of imprisonment, Mr. Candare was ordered to pay a P1,000 fine and to do 6 months of community service for PAWS. Pretty light it seems considering his self-confessed serial killing, the gruesomeness of his work and his lack of empathy.
Mr. Candare got all of Tengteng’s nine lives while he has the chance to start a new one for himself. We look forward to the psychiatric help he is reported to be getting as a result of his crime. Studies have long been made on the link of animal cruelty and full-blown psychopathy. No one wants another landmark case, this time of a serial killer of a more advanced animal.
[1] Photos courtesy of http://www.thepetitionsite.com/102/Justice-for-Tengteng/
[2] Photos courtesy of http://www.thepetitionsite.com/102/Justice-for-Tengteng/
[3] Snapshot courtesy of http://www.vincegolangco.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/cat-serial-killer.jpg
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