Soi Dog Foundation expands canine sterilisation, vaccination programme

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Soi Dog Foundation expands canine sterilisation, vaccination programme

By The Nation

 

 

KOH SAMUI: -- The Soi Dog Foundation on Friday started its canine sterilisation and vaccination programme in Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan to prevent further unwanted dogs being born, eliminate rabies, create a smaller, healthier and more sustainable population of dogs, and improve the environment for both animals and humans. 

 

The programme will target a minimum of 80 per cent of the dog population in the islands, estimated to be around 10,000 animals, and will take a minimum of nine months to complete. 

 

All funding will come directly from Soi Dog Foundation, which earlier this week mobilised a core team of two veterinarians, three vet nurses, four dog catchers and a manager. The team will target sterilising and vaccinating around 50 dogs per day, and will work systematically through each island, starting in Wat Bo Phuttharam in Samui. The Samui programme will take in seven districts and 39 villages

 

John Dalley, president and co-founder of Asia’s largest animal welfare organisation specialising in the welfare of street dogs and cats, said: “We had received a number of requests from people based in Samui over the years asking for us to conduct a mass sterilisation and vaccination programme there.

 

Up until now we simply did not have the resources to help out. Sterilisation and vaccination remains the only known sustainable and ethical way to reduce stray populations over time, and it is at the very heart of Soi Dog. Given time and resources, we intend to carry out such programmes right around Thailand, which is home to over 8 million street dogs alone. This alone indicates the nature of the challenge we are facing”.

 

Since Soi Dog Foundation started sterilising and vaccinating street dogs and cats in Phuket, back in 2003, the organisation has now achieved over 165,000 sterilisation operations, mainly in Phuket, Khao Lak, Phang Nga, and Bangkok. As a direct result of their work in Phuket, the island province is the only officially canine rabies-free province in the country. 

 

Earlier this year, Soi Dog embarked on the daunting task of sterilising and vaccinating in the Bangkok metropolitan area, home to over 640,000 free roaming dogs. Three mobile teams are currently operating in tandem, and will move systematically from khet to khet around the city until a minimum of 80 per cent of the strays have been sterilised.

 

Further teams will be added as resources become available. The target is to sterilise over 100,000 animals per year. The programme is expected to take between seven to 10 years to complete, and is being part-funded by Dogs Trust, the UK-based animal welfare charity.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30326133

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-09-08

[LannaGuy]

Good job and kill those that are sick and feeble (the dogs not the owners - although both options are tempting sometimes).

Edited September 8, 2017 by LannaGuy

[Samui Bodoh]

Kudos to the Soi Dog Foundation!

 

This is a kind thing to do for all the animals that I see everyday. Further, it is action that can actually achieve concrete results with Samui being an island.

 

I'll be buying those people a cold Coke if/when I see them working on the roads. And if I see a donation box, I'll be putting my contribution in.

 

Well Done!

[yellowboat]

Was able to sleep well at night because all of our animals were fixed.  We would also pay to have other neighborhood cats and dogs fixed as well.  Next time I am back in Thailand, will have have to stop by Soi Dog and make a donation.  

[loong]

Although this is admirable, I wonder whether this will ever make more than a temporary dent in the number of strays.

If 80% are sterilised, how long will it take the remaining 20% to fill the gap?

[nobodysfriend]

Good Job !

Would just like to send them over to some TV members as well ...

[PoorSucker]

On Samui we have dog and cat rescue Samui .

They have been doing this continuously since 1999.

 

100% of dogs on our street is vaccinated and fixed already thanks to them.

 

 

[Samui Bodoh]

1 hour ago, loong said:

Although this is admirable, I wonder whether this will ever make more than a temporary dent in the number of strays.

If 80% are sterilised, how long will it take the remaining 20% to fill the gap?

 

I thought that your question was a good one, so I did a quick search on-line for an answer. Unfortunately, I did not find a clear answer regarding the effectiveness of these programs, and certainly no specific numbers/data.

 

In the various articles that I read, there are three items which seem to be needed for an effective program:

• Catch/sterilize/release
• Control of food supply (garbage)
• Public education

I am not really sure what to say about these three items.

 

If they manage to achieve the 80% target (especially in females), then there should be a noticeable difference in a relatively short time. And logically, it will take a while to "fill the gap" again. Further, we are on an island, so the physical barrier will make this kind of thing much more effective; one article noted that some programs failed because (dogs especially) will roam far to find a bitch in heat.

 

Food supply/garbage. What can I say? We all see loads of garbage on the island, so I think there will be an adequate food supply for a long time. Perhaps if they fix the bloody incinerator sometime, that will help!

 

Public education. Again, what can I say? I think some Thais would be happy to have their pets spayed, but aren't willing to spend the money to do so. And, some don't seem to care if their pets get knocked up. Public attitudes will be hard to change.

 

In spite of the above, I think this is a great program and needs to be done, even if there will need to be a return visit by the Soi Dog Foundation in a few years. We humans helped to create this situation, and we have a responsibility to help fix/mitigate it. 

 

Any members knowledgeable about these kinds of programs? Or any members better at finding answers on-line?

 

Cheers

[Juan B Tong]

They should come to Pattaya and expand their services to include taxi drivers, ladyboy thieves, and beach vendors.

[Orton Rd]

Not this nonsense again, these people are not helping the situation. While they might stop a few hundred mating, a few million more are shelling out puppies daily. It's like trying to stop a flooding boat from sinking by using a spoon to bale out the water. Extermination on a massive scale is what is needed to solve the problems these pests create.

Edited September 8, 2017 by Orton Rd

[PremiumLane]

46 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Not this nonsense again, these people are not helping the situation. While they might stop a few hundred mating, a few million more are shelling out puppies daily. It's like trying to stop a flooding boat from sinking by using a spoon to bale out the water. Extermination on a massive scale is what is needed to solve the problems these pests create.

I suggest you read the article, and do some research on how 'extermination' doesn't work 

[notmyself]

4 hours ago, loong said:

Although this is admirable, I wonder whether this will ever make more than a temporary dent in the number of strays.

If 80% are sterilised, how long will it take the remaining 20% to fill the gap?

Between 3 & 5 years judging by the last time this kind of action was undertaken.

[sambum]

I think they, and similar organisations (Koh Samui Animal Sanctuary etc.) do a great job! Years ago these "soi" dogs were a real pest, especially when in  packs, but the situation is now a lot better, especially in beach areas. I think it is mostly due to the  sterling work done by these organisations and every time I have a few baht loose change in my pocket, I put it in the "doggie box on the bar"!

Edited September 8, 2017 by sambum

[sambum]

3 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

I thought that your question was a good one, so I did a quick search on-line for an answer. Unfortunately, I did not find a clear answer regarding the effectiveness of these programs, and certainly no specific numbers/data.

 

In the various articles that I read, there are three items which seem to be needed for an effective program:

• Catch/sterilize/release
• Control of food supply (garbage)
• Public education

I am not really sure what to say about these three items.

 

If they manage to achieve the 80% target (especially in females), then there should be a noticeable difference in a relatively short time. And logically, it will take a while to "fill the gap" again. Further, we are on an island, so the physical barrier will make this kind of thing much more effective; one article noted that some programs failed because (dogs especially) will roam far to find a bitch in heat.

 

Food supply/garbage. What can I say? We all see loads of garbage on the island, so I think there will be an adequate food supply for a long time. Perhaps if they fix the bloody incinerator sometime, that will help!

 

Public education. Again, what can I say? I think some Thais would be happy to have their pets spayed, but aren't willing to spend the money to do so. And, some don't seem to care if their pets get knocked up. Public attitudes will be hard to change.

 

In spite of the above, I think this is a great program and needs to be done, even if there will need to be a return visit by the Soi Dog Foundation in a few years. We humans helped to create this situation, and we have a responsibility to help fix/mitigate it. 

 

Any members knowledgeable about these kinds of programs? Or any members better at finding answers on-line?

 

Cheers

Very good post, and may I suggest that you check out  "Koh Samui Animal Sanctuary" and "The  Dog Rescue Centre, Samui" They also do good work!

P.S. You are spot on about the incinerator!

 

Edited September 8, 2017 by sambum

[notmyself]

1 hour ago, sambum said:

P.S. You are spot on about the incinerator!

 

  Water content would be high so cheaper to bury them.

[sambum]

6 minutes ago, notmyself said:

  Water content would be high so cheaper to bury them.

A poor attempt at humour!  I appreciate that every one is not an animal/dog lover - in fact one of my pet hates (apart from being harassed  by packs of "soi" dogs) are the dogs that bark incessantly all night for no apparent reason (apart from letting everyone within hearing distance know that they are there/on their territory)

 

However, who mentioned anything about water content?

[notmyself]

36 minutes ago, sambum said:

A poor attempt at humour!  I appreciate that every one is not an animal/dog lover - in fact one of my pet hates (apart from being harassed  by packs of "soi" dogs) are the dogs that bark incessantly all night for no apparent reason (apart from letting everyone within hearing distance know that they are there/on their territory)

 

However, who mentioned anything about water content?

 

Dogs barking for seemingly no reason is usually caused by ghosts.

 

[sambum]

16 minutes ago, notmyself said:

 

Dogs barking for seemingly no reason is usually caused by ghosts.

 

That's better! But you haven't answered my question!

[notmyself]

6 minutes ago, sambum said:

That's better! But you haven't answered my question!

 

Incinerators use a considerable amount of power and much much more when the fuel (expired pooches) has a high water content. Rice also has a high water content and thus not useful for generating power for example.

[sambum]

7 minutes ago, notmyself said:

 

Incinerators use a considerable amount of power and much much more when the fuel (expired pooches) has a high water content. Rice also has a high water content and thus not useful for generating power for example.

But surely the fat content would compensate? There again - soi dogs don't get very fat!

 

Anyway, thanks for the answer to my "burning" question!

[notmyself]

Would be far more environmentally friendly to bury (long term) or mince and spread (short term) as fertilizer. BTW.. Dog of around 25kg requires +- 40MJ of thermal energy not including pre-heating and conductive loss. 

[TheLobster]

9 hours ago, PoorSucker said:

On Samui we have dog and cat rescue Samui .

They have been doing this continuously since 1999.

100% of dogs on our street is vaccinated and fixed already thanks to them

100% of dogs on our street is vaccinated and fixed already thanks to them This is a complete and utter lie and it is a disgrace that someone on Samui in a responsible position on the forums should post such lies. Complete fabrication from PoorSucker yet again trying to promote Koh Samui. 

 

As for the link to the dog and cat rescue place, I can tell you from personal experience that they are the most vile and unhelpful people I've ever contacted for help on Samui. My experience, up to you ....................

 

If you are going to donate money do it to the Snake guy, not these leeches.

[sambum]

17 hours ago, TheLobster said:

100% of dogs on our street is vaccinated and fixed already thanks to them This is a complete and utter lie and it is a disgrace that someone on Samui in a responsible position on the forums should post such lies. Complete fabrication from PoorSucker yet again trying to promote Koh Samui. 

 

As for the link to the dog and cat rescue place, I can tell you from personal experience that they are the most vile and unhelpful people I've ever contacted for help on Samui. My experience, up to you ....................

 

If you are going to donate money do it to the Snake guy, not these leeches.

Yes, Phil also does sterling work and rather him than me!

 

However, I stand by my statement about the work done by the voluntary Dog Rescue Centre, Samui - the situation regarding stray dogs is nowhere near as bad as  it was say 10 years ago. And you should be aware that this organisation has 2 centres - maybe one is better/worse than the other? :- 

 

"We have two shelters: a small one in Chaweng at our house and the large one at Ban Taling Ngam in the south west of the island."

 

Possibly you caught the staff on a bad day - it does happen sometimes wherever you are,  and these people are doing voluntary work, so you should give them a bit of leeway

 

And to say:-  "100% of dogs on our street is vaccinated and fixed already thanks to them" is possibly true - you don't know all the dogs on his street, whereas he possibly does. Now if he'd said "100% of the dogs on the streets are vaccinated and fixed already thanks to them" then I would take that as a bit of an exaggeration to say the least!

 

Anyway, sorry for your bad experience, and by the way, I have no connection or vested interests in either of the above shelters!

 

 

Edited September 9, 2017 by sambum

[Orton Rd]

On 08/09/2017 at 0:09 PM, PremiumLane said:

I suggest you read the article, and do some research on how 'extermination' doesn't work 

Dead dogs do not breed

[Samui Bodoh]

14 hours ago, sambum said:

Yes, Phil also does sterling work and rather him than me!

 

However, I stand by my statement about the work done by the voluntary Dog Rescue Centre, Samui - the situation regarding stray dogs is nowhere near as bad as  it was say 10 years ago. And you should be aware that this organisation has 2 centres - maybe one is better/worse than the other? :- 

 

"We have two shelters: a small one in Chaweng at our house and the large one at Ban Taling Ngam in the south west of the island."

 

Possibly you caught the staff on a bad day - it does happen sometimes wherever you are,  and these people are doing voluntary work, so you should give them a bit of leeway

 

And to say:-  "100% of dogs on our street is vaccinated and fixed already thanks to them" is possibly true - you don't know all the dogs on his street, whereas he possibly does. Now if he'd said "100% of the dogs on the streets are vaccinated and fixed already thanks to them" then I would take that as a bit of an exaggeration to say the least!

 

Anyway, sorry for your bad experience, and by the way, I have no connection or vested interests in either of the above shelters!

 

 

 

I very much agree with Sambum (above).

 

EVERY person that I have talked to regarding this (who has some basic knowledge) says that the Dog Rescue Center Samui group is an excellent organization.

 

And as for Mr Sucker being a liar, offer some concrete evidence or shut the hell up. Your post was very offensive.

 

 

 

[TheLobster]

17 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

I very much agree with Sambum (above).

EVERY person that I have talked to regarding this (who has some basic knowledge) says that the Dog Rescue Center Samui group is an excellent organization.

And as for Mr Sucker being a liar, offer some concrete evidence or shut the hell up. Your post was very offensive.

 

First of all 'every person I have talked to' means that you have no personal experience. I too 'have heard' many stories about this business, most of the stories saying they have refused to take in cats and dogs. <deleted> it is supposed to be a dog and cat rescue centre.

 

'Who has some basic knowledge' implies that I'm stupid. Far from it.

 

My personal experience is this: A stray bitch delivered 11 puppies near our house which was close to a main road. The house was rented so we couldn't keep them. I rang the Dog & Cat Rescue Centre and they said they couldn't help but their Vet would be able to come round 4 days later. We paid a Thai guy to take the bitch and the puppies to a temple where they had a better chance of surviving. 4 days later these <deleted> from the rescue place rang me to say maybe they could help and were offensive when I said it was too late.

 

I implore everyone that reads this post not to give single Thai Baht to this business. 

 

'And as for Mr Sucker being a liar, offer some concrete evidence or shut the hell up. Your post was very offensive.' There are stray dogs everywhere on Samui and they don't have any ID so no-one can really claim that there is 100% vaccination of dogs on their street. Your post is naive. 

[PoorSucker]

8 hours ago, TheLobster said:

And as for Mr Sucker being a liar, offer some concrete evidence or shut the hell up. Your post was very offensive.' There are stray dogs everywhere on Samui and they don't have any ID so no-one can really claim that there is 100% vaccination of dogs on their street. Your post is naive. 

There are 4  dogs on my street, they all gets feed by me and my neighbors, they keep all other strays away.

How do I know they are all vaccinated and fixed?

I have taken them to dog rescue center myself.

[canuckamuck]

A bounty on strays would work the best. Of course all the enablers would die from a bleeding heart, but that's a price I am willing to pay.

[johng]

8 million by there own estimate !

[jak2002003]

'The programme will target a minimum of 80 per cent of the dog population in the islands, estimated to be around 10,000 animals'....

 

So there will still be around 10,000 animals on the island... and 20 percent will still be breeding.. and their puppies growing up and also breeding, and peoples pet dogs will keep breeding and being dumped to add to the 10,000 plus population.... so what good is Soi Dog Foundations actually doing?... there are still thousands of dogs and the population will still be growing... perhaps even faster, if the remaining dogs are vaccinated and now in top health... more puppies will survive and not die of disease.  

 

'Soi Dog Foundation started sterilising and vaccinating street dogs and cats in Phuket, back in 2003, the organisation has now achieved over 165,000 sterilisation operations, mainly in Phuket, Khao Lak, Phang Nga, and Bangkok'.

 

My visits to Phuket and Bangkok suggest there is still a huge street dog population.. and I have seen plenty of street dogs with puppies also in these areas.  I suggest their methods are next to useless and a complete waste of time and energy.... the money that is spent on these things is huge, and better spent on other things that actually help people or animals.