‘Pets are not gifts’: Animal welfare group issues reminder after BINI’s Aiah receives puppy from fan
MANILA, Philippines – Pawssion Project, a Filipino non-profit organization dedicated to animal welfare, reminded the public to avoid giving pets as a gift after netizens raised their concern when Aiah of P-pop group BINI received a puppy from a fan.
On August 30, BINI held an event at the SM Mall of Asia Music, wherein a fan came up to Aiah and gave her a Chow Chow-Japanese Spitz mix puppy. The P-pop idol shared photos of her new pet on in a now-expired Instagram story.
“Someone surprised me with a dog last night. Didn’t expect I’d be a dog mom soon, but Christmas came early,” she wrote.
While some fans were delighted to see Aiah happy, others were distressed at the idea of giving a living present like pets as gifts. Others also pointed out that the P-pop idol has a busy schedule and being an unexpected fur parent might be a huge commitment and responsibility that she’ll have a hard time handling.
BINI and Aiah’s official fanbases also took to social media to remind fellow fans that there’s proper guidelines on gift-giving and to refrain from giving living things to the members.
“It’s important to recognize that giving live gifts goes beyond entertainment — it’s a responsibility,” Bloom Philippines wrote. In a separate comment, the fanbase disclosed prior to giving Aiah the puppy in a public event, the giver initially reached out to them to relay her plans but was rejected by BINI’s management several times.
Aiah’s fanbase echoed the sentiment, noting that it “was not properly communicated nor was consent given.”
“We do not encourage nor do we normalize gifting of living things without proper communication with the receiver,” they said. “May everyone be reminded of the commitment and constant care that living things, especially pets, require.”
‘Full consent is very important’
Sharing their sentiment on the matter, Pawssion Project emphasized the importance of consent in a situation like this as “pets are lifetime commitments.”
“Not everyone who receives them are ready but cannot say no anymore. Not everyone gives their consent. This is why many animals get abandoned and neglected,” they added.
The animal welfare group also clarified that it’s not an attack on BINI Aiah’s capacity as a pet parent and that they empathize with her being given a huge responsibility on the spot.
They added that giving pets as a gifts without properly considering how it’ll impact the receiver shouldn’t be normalized.
“We are very firm about this because we get hundreds and hundreds of messages regarding pet surrenders, regardless of breed. Many homeless animals and dogs in pounds were gifts and people eventually realize they can’t fully commit to it,” they said. “So full consent is still very, very important.” – Rappler.com