Getting tough: Bangkok governor says time is up for soi dogs

[webfact]

Getting tough: Bangkok governor says time is up for soi dogs

 

Picture: Daily News

 

Bangkok's governor has called time on the capital's soi dogs. 

 

He has said that enough is enough; too many people are being bitten and harassed. 

 

Measures adopted by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have proved insufficient and new plans are being made to address the problem of strays. 

 

Officials in 50 districts are being trained in catching techniques and strays will be carted off up country after screening. 

 

Governor Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang assured the public that dogs would not be killed - they would be looked after. 

 

But he urged people who can no longer take care of their pets to contact the BMA and not discard them on the streets. 

 

Aswin said that measures such as vaccinating, spaying and catching fierce dogs that bite people are proving insufficient. 

 

So he has ordered his deputy Thaweesak Lertpraphan to meet with all those concerned in 50 districts to address the problem. 

 

Numbers of soi dogs will first be noted in each district then teams will be assigned to round up those with no owner, those that are lost and those that are just plain dangerous to the public. 

 

They will first be taken to a BMA facility in Prawet where they will be screened for diseases, vaccinated and sterilized. 

 

Then they will be taken to a facility in Thapthan district of Uthai Thani - several provinces north away from Bangkok - to a dog pound there that can cater for 8,000 animals. 

 

Aswin said that BMA staff will be trained in dog catching techniques so that the public will not have to wait so long for action when they make complaints about strays. 

 

He called for other government agencies and non-governmental groups to help solve the problem. These include the Department of Public Health, the Veterinarian Department, university vet departments and dog loving organisations. 

 

"We are not rounding up the dogs to kill them," he said. "They will be taken care of and hopefully some will find new, responsible owners". 

 

He said that people who can no longer care for pets should not abandon them to the streets. He urged the public to take unwanted pets to his staff so they could be looked after properly. 

 

Source: Daily News

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-11-13

[PatOngo]

Please! Make it nationwide!

[from the home of CC]

8000 dogs under one roof, please make it WAY upcountry.

[richard_smith237]

This is what it takes... Get rid of them all in one fell swoop.... 

 

... of course, no harm will come to the dogs, thats just un-Buddhist....  until out of sight out of mind, of course... but by then it will be too late. 

 

There will be arguments of inhumane treatment, but they are animals not humans, they are pests, they bite... this will be better in the long term. It is unfortunate that a 'cull' has become necessary but a history of inaction has left this legacy... 

[Laza 45]

..export to Vietnam?

[brucegoniners]

He makes good points.

 

The dogs didn’t choose to be out there. It’s the idiot people who let their dogs go.

 

Yes, spay and neuter them so the problem doesn’t get worse.

 

Many of the soi dogs are lovely creatures who just want a home.

 

I know there are vicious ones, but imagine what they go through?

 

People need to show more humanity to these lovely animals.

 

I’ve met many, many more bad people than bad dogs.

[OliverKlozerof]

Of course it's not the dogs' fault; it's irresponsible people. However, 'animal control' has to be carried out. Whatever they have to do to  get them off streets (and beaches, etc., etc.), should be done. They become, essentially, vermin and revert to their wolf nature. 

[iforget]

Plain stupidity yet again. There are an estimated 640,000 street dogs in Bangkok. Lock up 8,000 and all you are doing is donating extra food (garbage) to the remaining 560,000.

Well fed dogs breed faster than starving dogs.

Bangkok govt would do better to sort out the garbage stinking up the streets of Bangkok.

This would help to control population growth of street dogs, feral cats and rats.

But for population reduction, sterilisation and vaccination take time but they are the ONLY effective remedy. Anything else is a pointless waste of effort, manpower and funds.

As for impounding the dogs, has no one learned any lessons from earlier this year when 3,000+ dogs were dumped in a pound in Nakhon Phanom?

In a matter of weeks around 2,300 were dead from starvation, disease and injuries in fights. This is humane?

No. It's not.

Even if you loathe street dogs, you have to understand that kneejerk slaughter/impounding WILL NOT WORK.

In a matter of days, weeks or months strays will be back on your street. They'll just be different strays.

Tell the Bangkok authorities to be patient and put serious effort behind sterilsation and vaccination.

[bergan]

Is he for real? Like we need more soi dogs up country?

[1337markus]

all talk no action.

[seahorse]

Extermination is the only solution that works. 

[usacb500biker]

Feed the Dogs to the Crocs ....... What a Show

[dotpoom]

It's not just stray dogs, the dogs that have owners can be as troublesome, in fact in my experience....even worse....when one approaches their "territory". The owners in many cases ( if around) appear like they couldn't care less if they ripped you apart.

[lucjoker]

The action starts with counting ?

You dont need to count them ,we know it are several hundred of thousand dogs. You have to take them all away.

By the time they are counted ,there will be thousands more ......and the counting will be done over again?

The rest is simple , put hundred of thousand dogs in a shelter for 8000 ,5555.

They will not see the problem until the 8000th dog goes in AND Then they will notice the problem. This is going to be big fun.

Prob. there will be no action at all.

 

 

 

[JMonroe]

I wouldn't mind them getting rid of all the soi dogs except for the fact that what happens to them after being rounded up is extremely cruel. I've had my own bad experiences with soi dogs, but I'm also an animal lover. This is a problem that needs to be solved but in a humane way. Read about what happened to the last batch of soi dogs rounded up during the last rabies scare and you will know there is nothing humane about they were treated. I guess I'm saying I'm against this if the animals won't be treated humanely. And I know they won't.

[marquis22]

Need a few more cages as showing in the pic to hold the roundup around here.

[BEngBKK]

Thais love small cute puppies but they grow up.....

[Xonax]

What about also punishing the many people making merit, by feeding the soi dogs on a daily basis.  The dogs seems to know exactly where to go and at what time to be fed.

[Pattaya28]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Governor Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang assured the public that dogs would not be killed - they would be looked after. 

Really ?

Dumping them in another province will be popular.

[NextStationBangkok]

Vietnamese will take care with free dine. ????

[metisdead]

A post using a foreign language has been removed.  English is the only acceptable language anywhere on ThaiVisa including Classifieds, except within the Thai language forum, where of course using Thai is allowed.

 

A nonsensical comment on moderation has now been removed. 

Edited November 13, 2018 by metisdead

[Rayscape]

1 hour ago, seahorse said:

Extermination is the only solution that works. 

Of who? I live in Greece for 6 months of the year, and 6 months in Thailand. There is a cat problem here ( in Greece ). It is the people who are to blame. All pet owners need to get their animals checked, sterilized and tagged. Yes it will take time and money. If you take all the animals off the streets and exterminate them, they will back on the streets within months. But I agree, extermination of the owners could work!!! I would be inclined to start with this approach, for a couple of years, and see how it goes??? You will find also the garbage level will be reduced!!!  

[MaksimMislavsky]

1 hour ago, lucjoker said:

The rest is simple , put hundred of thousand dogs in a shelter for 8000 ,5555.

They will not see the problem until the 8000th dog goes in AND Then they will notice the problem. This is going to be big fun.

They will probably find a (Thai) way around, or, rather, through it. Silently.

[edwardflory]

I am lucky, my village area has both cats and dogs.  The cats are either friendly, or, ignore you.  Once the dogs know you ( they sniff you several times ), they are the same way......SO FAR!!! (15 months)

[varun]

Finally, somebody is talking sense.
Now let's hope this project is seen all the way through.

[Ulic]

The humane thing is to put them down. Not PC but there it is. You can't find homes for them, Many are diseased, starving, and injured. Every dog not spayed, neutered or chipped should be put down. Dog owners who do not spay or neuter their pets at 6 months of age should be made to pay a hefty yearly license fee. Puppies should all be chipped so you can find the owners and hold them responsible for aggressive behavior. Unchipped dogs belong to nobody, so they should be put down.

[Juan B Tong]

Please, please don't kill them!  They may come back as cops.

[moontang]

"Exterminate, with extreme prejudice." 

[bergan]

16 minutes ago, varun said:

Finally, somebody is talking sense.
Now let's hope this project is seen all the way through.

Rounding up dogs and shipping them up country makes sense?

[kannot]

2 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

8000 dogs under one roof, please make it WAY upcountry.

yeah cambodia