As in other countries throughout SE Asia, the wildlife pet trade takes a huge toll on wildlife in the Philippines. Wildlife pet ownership is illegal, yet it continues to be common and accepted. At the WIN Rescue Center, many of our animals were confiscated from the pet trade including long-tailed macaques, cloud rats, serpent and sea eagles, and 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 inhumane practice, WIN developed our KEEP IT WILD! campaign. We have a series of posters to get our message across and encourage everyone to choose a domesticated companion animal instead.