PETA: Manhunt on for producers of animal fetish videos in PHL

Two alleged producers of a series of films showing animals being stepped on and crushed to death are being hunted down by authorities and an animal rights group. In a statement released Tuesday, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia-Pacific announced that it is offering P100,000 for information that would lead to the arrest of Victor Ridon and Dorma Ridon of Bacnotan, La Union. The two allegedly produced and sold 68 videos showing “scantily clad young girls" in “crush videos" showing rabbits being mutilated alive, dogs being burned with a clothes iron, and puppies being stepped on until they spewed out their internal organs, among others. Animal, child abuse Victor and Dorma Ridon were charged with violating Section 6 of Republic Act (RA) 8485 or the Animal Welfare Act of 1998, on top of violating Section 9 of Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act in January 2011, according to PETA. RA 7610 protects children from prostitution. PETA said the “crush films" were being sold as erotica. In April 2011, additional charges for violating RA 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and RA 9147 or the Wildlife Protection and Conservation Act were filed. The discovery of the alleged perpetrators was a result of a year-long confidential investigation by PETA and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). The PETA statement said Victor and Dorma Ridon have standing warrants of arrest from the Regional Trial Court Branch 30 of San Fernando, La Union. Under the Animal Welfare Act, it is unlawful “for any person to torture any animal, to neglect to provide adequate care… 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." “There is no doubt that forcing children to crush live animals to death is an atrociously violent and heart breaking crime," said PETA Asia campaigns manager Rochelle Regodon. Inadequate laws At the press conference Tuesday, PETA pointed out the lack of laws in the Philippines that punishes people who produce “crush films." Currently, perpetrators of animal torture are subjected to a maximum of two years imprisonment and or a P5,000 fine, according to PETA. Two filed bills in Congress seek to explicitly ban the production and sale of “crush videos." In February 2011, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago filed Senate Resolution No. 397 while Buhay party-list Rep. Irwin Teng filed House Bill Number 4595 in May this year.
“Dapat siguro i-amend na natin ang Animal Welfare Act kasi parang walang natatakot at sana mas maging detailed," said PETA Asia special projects coordinator Jana Sevilla, adding that compared to other countries, Philippine laws do not punish animal abuse as severely. “Wala namang kalaban-laban ang mga hayop," she said. Russian tipster According to PETA, they were informed about a Filipino selling the “crush videos" on the Internet middle of last year by a Russian tipster. It said the tipster pretended to be a customer, purchased the videos online and handed a link over to PETA, as well as information on the Filipino in La Union. The short videos show footage of animals being abused—a rabbit and dog being skinned alive, a monkey and dog being repeatedly hit in the eye with the sharp end of a stiletto, snakes being crushed to the ground, dongs being jumped on and puppies being crushed, some of which were shown during the press conference. All the videos feature one to three girls performing the acts on the animals. “The video is difficult to watch for any normal person as it shows extreme cruelty to animals," said PETA. The videos were originally produced two years ago, when one of the girls was only 12 years old. The three girls were identified to be house helpers of the Ridons. According to PETA, the girls said that at first they were asked to dance in their underwear while being filmed before they started producing the “crush films." The films were being sold though a website for P500-P1,000 each. The Russian tipster said that after inquiring about the videos, Dorma Ridon would send “teaser" videos with the promise of full-length versions once a payment would be made through Western Union. “It’s very possible for a person to request for specific [types of videos]," added Regodon. PETA, however, could not give information on how big a business “crush videos" can be. The girls are currently under the custody of the NBI Ilocos Regional Office and are undergoing counseling. Animal abuse in the PHL PETA said the “crush film" trend started over 10 years ago, and that the prospect of easy money from producing those films is likely to have motivated the Ridons. “This is not specific to the Philippines. There are a lot of bad people out there abusing animals," said Regodon. Middle of May this year, a Quezon City court convicted a University of the Philippines student for killing a cat in 2009. A month later in June, a Facebook user was the object of online ire after posting photos of a live puppy pinned to a clothesline and hanging out to dry. The case is currently being handled by the Philippine Animal Welfare Society, according to PETA. - KBK, GMA News