An Open Letter to EAMC's Medical Director Cortez: Has the issue of Rudolph "Rudy" the Deer opened an Entire Can of Worms regarding trafficking of the members of the Animal Kingdom within Metro Manila?

An Open Letter

January 6, 2011
Roland L. Cortez, M.D.
MHA., CESO IV, CEO VI
Medical Center Chief II
East Avenue Medical Center
East Avenue, Quezon City

Dear Dr. Cortez,

Thank you for your letter of January 4, 2011 which responded to my previous letter received by your office on December 29, 2010 (http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2011/01/regarding-rudolph-rudy-deer-first-good.html) Allow me to respectfully congratulate you on your strong sense of humanity which you have indisputably practiced in your chosen profession as a government doctor serving the Filipino people. You have in fact, chosen to extend your strong sense of compassion for others (in the Human Kingdom) to the Animal Kingdom by choosing to disallow the butchering of Rudolph “Rudy” the Philippine Deer (Please refer to Annex "A") when he was given to your good office as a “gift” in 2010 for that very purpose. Not even that. You have even tapped into the expertise of the East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) and rehabilitated Rudy's injured legs and cared for him by subjecting him to monthly veterinarian checkups and feeding him regularly, and providing him with a house to live him, in the same way that a loving father would to a child who had been abandoned and thrown out by the wayside.

We in the Diliman Diary be are very happy for the initiative you have shown and if Rudy could speak, he would undoubtedly be forever grateful to you for sparing him from the ignominous fate of being converted to “finger food.” (i.e., “pulutan”).

Annex "A"

(Rudolph "Rudy" the Deer)

It is precisely because you have proven yourself to have strong credentials as an avowed humanist that I would like to appeal to your strong sense of humanity to allow Rudy to be turned over to the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) which has appealed to you to allow them to have custody over this beautiful deer so that a proper animal sanctuary can be found for him to live in and so that Rudy can exercise and roam freely and thereby escape the current conditions of captivity and isolation that he undoubtedly suffers now (Please refer to the attached letter at Annex “B').

(Annex B)

(To enlarge the graphic, just click on it)

We recognize that no laws have been violated. But the animal rights organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in fact describes the dangers which animals like Rudy could be subjected to, tied up on a short leash and not allowed significant exercise for his species which would be for him to be able to roam dozens of kilometers a day in the bush or in the mountains. The following satellite picture of EAMC (courtesy of Google Earth) at http://tinyurl.com/2uqbmdx in fact shows that there are no significant tracts of real estate for Rudy to roam around in the hospital compound (Please refer to Annex "C") and that this is probably better left to sanctuary providers wbhose sole responsibility is to provide dedicated animal safe havens.

(Annex "C")

 (To zoom in on the satellite picture, 

click on http://tinyurl.com/2uqbmdx)

PETA in fact refers to the dangers of “captivity-induced mental illness which is rampant among confined animals. Some rage against their imprisonment.” We know that you would want nothing but the best for Rudolph. It is in fact our respect for you as a person, and also for your honorable office that we are doing our best to make our case. The attached Youtube video embedded below (Please refer to Annex "D") gives us all an idea of the scope and the size of the area needed by members of the Philippine Deer species such as Rudy:  

(Annex "D")

As the Honorable Doctor can see from the video, the Philippine Deer shown therein are able to roam around in a much more free manner than would be able to be enjoyed by Rudy at EAMC. This is to therefore respectfully make the attempt to persuade the Good Doctor to give his blessing for Rudy to graduate from his very important stint at EAMC and to allow him to join his colleagues in animal sanctuaries such as those provided by PAWS where he can roam freely and socialize with them.

Lastly, however, I would like to personally thank you for tipping off the Diliman Diary about the trafficking of animals at Cartimar. Additional information has also trickled in informing us that more of the same activities are going on in the Sta. Cruz/Arranque areas and we are currently checking this out and will publish our findings shortly at the Diliman Diary. We will also be seeking an interview with Dr. Angelo Mateo, your classmate as Career Executive Service Officers, and Chief of the Board of Veterinary Medicine to find out what progress has been made on the long standing issue of animal trafficking under the brand-new administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III.

I wish you, your office and the entire EAMC staff the best for a successful 2011.

Sincerely yours,

Mr. Chanda Shahani

Editor

Diliman Diary