Website offering Mindoro hunting tours taken down

A U.S.-based group website offering wildlife hunting “adventure tour[s]” in Mindoro that caused a stir on Philippine blogs and prompted an inquiry from government officials has been taken down, allheadlinenews.com reports.

Hunting wildlife, as well as cruelty to animals, is illegal in the country by virtue of R.A. 9147, the Wildlife Resources Protection Act.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced Friday that they were investigating reports of wildlife hunting advertised on the internet.

The DENR referred to an advertisement on now-defunct Montana-based www.adventure411.com that offered to take foreign nationals on a two-week hunting expedition in Mindoro for a fee of $13,800 (P772,800). Game included bearded water buffaloes, black Philippine jungle cats, and other endemic species.

The DENR will not allow hunting in “Mindoro or anywhere [else] in the country” said DENR Secretary Horacio Ramos to inquirer.net.

The Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) has also warned foreign nationals that violators caught hunting wildlife in the country will face arrest, reports The Mindoro Post.

"Any person who will be found hunting in any part of the Philippines will be dealt with the full force of Republic Act 9147 and other pertinent laws," warned Antonio Manila, PAWB assistant director in a statement.

R.A. 9147 prohibits “killing and destroying wildlife species” except when done as part of a religious ritual of indigenous communities, when done in self-defense, when the animal is inflicted with incurable communicable disease or otherwise afflicted, or when done during scientific research.

Violaters of the law face between six and 12 years in prison and/or fined P100,000 to P1 million (US $2,000 to $21,500).

Ramos appealed to the public to contact the DENR via phone (405-0323, 09173029257) or through email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it /ph) if they have any information on illegal hunting activities in the country.

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