THE sad reality in the country’s animal pounds has reared its ugly head anew with the drowning of cats and dogs at the San Juan City pound during the onslaught of Super Typhoon Carina and habagat.

When everyone scampered for safety from floodwaters, the poor animals were left on their own, helpless to even save themselves as they were locked in cages.

We will await the outcome of the San Juan City’s action on the personnel responsible for the neglect of the animals.

Government-funded animal shelters should not be death traps.   Instead, they should be lifesavers of abandoned animals that may have chances of getting rehomed and cared for.

This is one of the vital objectives of our Senate Bill No. 2458 which seeks to strengthen the Animal Welfare Act.

The bill creates a Barangay Animal Welfare Task Force to capacitate local officers to address animal welfare issues with dispatch, such as during calamities.

As the novelist Milan Kundera said, “humanity’s true moral test consists of its attitude toward those who are at its mercy: animals.”