Rayong dog owners seek justice as death toll of dog poisoning hits 36

[webfact]

Photo : Watchdog Thailand Foundation

Three dog owners in Rayong’s Nikhom Phatthana district have asked police to take action against those responsible for poisoning their pets in separate incidents, resulting in the deaths of 36 animals.

 

Somjit Palapol, a durian farmer, claims that his 19 dogs were poisoned on March 6, 17 of which died.

 

He said that he raised his dogs with love and best care, but they were killed by poison-laced food. ‘I am speechless and broken-hearted. I have already filed a complaint with the police, as the killings violate the law,’ he said.

 

According to the Anti-Cruelty to Animals Act, which came into force in 2014, offenders are punishable by prison terms not exceeding two years and/or a maximum fine of Bt40,000.

 

Full story: Thai PBS 2024-03-11

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

 

 

[thesetat]

This guy had 19 dogs.. As a Thai he allowed them to become soi dogs to run wild in a pack I would bet. My guess is someone got tired of being harassed by them and decided to solve the problem their own way. Too many times I have seen these types of dogs chasing people and cars and bikes down the street. Although I sympathize with the mans plight finding the killer who poisoned them, I would bet there is more in this story not being said about how the man really took care of those dogs. 

[Lucky Bones]

19 dogs, likely dining out on boiled rice and many garbage bins.

No sympathy for this tosser.🙃🙃

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Three dog owners in Rayong’s Nikhom Phatthana district have asked police to take action against those responsible for poisoning their pets in separate incidents, resulting in the deaths of 36 animals.

A responsible dog owner who doesn't know when enough is enough.

[gargamon]

Those annoying dogs that bark all night deserve to be poisoned. Not that the article states they were barking. Just saying. 

[mfd101]

20 minutes ago, gargamon said:

Those annoying dogs that bark all night deserve to be poisoned. Not that the article states they were barking. Just saying. 

One might argue that poisoning the owner would be more effective in the long run.

[ChrisY1]

Who ever is doing this dastardly deed of poisoning dogs.....we need him in my area badly! 

[nobodysfriend]

Did you ever see a dog die from Poison ?

A horrible , painful death .

They did this to my old faithful dog just after arriving here in Thailand .

Who did this , deserves the same treatment .

[JoePai]

51 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

One might argue that poisoning the owner would be more effective in the long run.

And that's the nub of it - there are no owners, these soi dogs run wild

[brianthainess]

So my guess his farm is not fenced off, and who allowed him to keep 19 dogs? In my local area  "Only"    5 dogs are allowed per property/dwelling. 

[Thingamabob]

1 hour ago, gargamon said:

Those annoying dogs that bark all night deserve to be poisoned. Not that the article states they were barking. Just saying. 

'Deserve to be poisoned' for barking?

You are unwell. See a doctor, soon.

 

 

[gargamon]

14 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

'Deserve to be poisoned' for barking?

You are unwell. See a doctor, soon.

 

 

Barking all night... 

[Tropicalevo]

3 hours ago, thesetat said:

This guy had 19 dogs.. As a Thai he allowed them to become soi dogs to run wild in a pack I would bet.

They lived on his farm.

[Tropicalevo]

1 hour ago, JoePai said:

And that's the nub of it - there are no owners, these soi dogs run wild

They lived on a Durian plantation according to the press.

 

Quote

Somjit says he does not know reason for the poisonings, as his dogs were raised in closed areas. If they had caused a problem for somebody, they should have come and complained to him, he said.

 

[Elkski]

 Not more than 2 yrs or 40,000?  Takes some thinking.  If you stay fit and eat right and plan to be going to 80+ amd like the home you've made.  What is the age?  Guess it makes a difference if you moved onto that situation or it changed. 

[john donson]

19 dogs ? wth... must be so nice for the neigbors...

 

did they roam the streets ?

[Enoon]

2 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

They lived on a Durian plantation according to the press.

 

 

 

However it might be reasonable to infer that they were free to leave the plantation:

 

A witness told reporters that, on March 6, he saw a bronze pickup truck arrive and park in front of Somjit’s plantation. The dogs ran to it, after which and the vehicle sped off.

 

The witness does not say that they saw someone leaving the vehicle and taking food to the dogs on the plantation.

 

 

 

 

[digger70]

Somjit says he does not know reason for the poisonings, as his dogs were raised in closed areas. If they had caused a problem for somebody, they should have come and complained to him, he said.

A witness told reporters that, on March 6, he saw a bronze pickup truck arrive and park in front of Somjit’s plantation. The dogs ran to it, after which and the vehicle sped off. Shortly afterward, the dogs appeared to be suffering from what is believed to be the results of poison ingestion.

 

They were Raised in a closed Area ,Bet ya they were running lose and No Fence around his Property.

If there IS a Fence they would've said so.

[SportRider]

It's a nightmare being a responsible dog owner in Thailand.  We keep ours within our walled perimeter, and when taking for a walk he's always on a lead.

 

The problem is, if a bunch of soi dogs get his scent, the gang chases after us and my missus gets super scared.  Often I have to pick him up (he's a Cav).

 

The beach is pretty much the only place we can enjoy taking poor Mutley for a walk.

 

 

 

 

[AgMech Cowboy]

9 hours ago, thesetat said:

My guess is someone got tired of being harassed by them

And bitten...

[thecyclist]

8 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

'Deserve to be poisoned' for barking?

You are unwell. See a doctor, soon.

 

 

Obviously, he is unwell. Anybody would be without any sleep. 

I get very cranky after a sleepless night. Been close to strangling a bunch of roosters 🐓 several times. 

[richard_smith237]

9 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

Did you ever see a dog die from Poison ?

A horrible , painful death .

They did this to my old faithful dog just after arriving here in Thailand .

Who did this , deserves the same treatment .

 

I quite agree, its a horrific thing to do....  But some people are so oblivious of their surroundings and how their actions impact others that others are simply forced to take some form of action. 

 

In this example we have a fool who thought it ok to keep 19 dogs and clearly they are a major issue for the neighbours if someone was pushed to take such action. 

 

IF these dogs were in a secure location, how do the poisoned food get to them ? - someone thew it over the fence ?

 

 

The conclusion most people have draw already makes sense: 

This guy was clearly an absolute nuisance and ignorant to the burden his animals placed on others. 

I very much doubt he fed them himself, rather he let them scrounge round the neighbourhood. 

My suspicion is that these were more like Soi dogs and the 'so called owner' is now making a claim in the hopes of sweeping up a little compensation. 

 

 

Did any of the dogs have a collar ??....   If any of those dogs had caused a motorcycle accident, or bitten a child would the same guy claiming to be the owner still be accountable, or would he claim differently that these dogs were not his and just soi dogs in such a situation where it may cost him ?

 

 

One of my neighbours cats kept 'spraying up our car' and also 'scratching the seat of my motorcycle'.... I had this on video... 

We out the video in the neigborhoood chat group - the owner said it was his cat and he'd offer to pay for any damages and that he'd do better to try and keep the cat in (obvousouly a difficult thing to do), but clearly the owner is responsible and trying to do his part.

I put out anti-cat spray, but it didn't really work...  I just have to cover the bike (which I do anyway) and put a double cover on the seat... 

 

But, if it were 20 cats spraying and shi££ing everywhere, I'd be forced to take action and call in pest control to have these animals removed - there's no other solution. 

 

In a previous area I lived in (not a moo-ban) but an area of Bangkok (Wattana) which had a lot of extremely expensive houses in the area.

There were no stray dogs at all in the area, which is very strange for Bangkok...  but it led to nice quiet nights with no dogs barking all night long !!!... 

My suspicion; someone paid off the local BiB or local Win-Moto guys to keep the area 'dog free' and any soi-dogs / strays were taken care off / removed and relocated or killed and disposed of (I've no idea) - but, IMO, its not a bad solution to prevent things from getting out of hand. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

20 minutes ago, thecyclist said:

Obviously, he is unwell. Anybody would be without any sleep. 

I get very cranky after a sleepless night. Been close to strangling a bunch of roosters 🐓 several times. 

 

I recall being on a project in northern Thailand and we were put up in a local farm house, quite a pleasant old teak building, but not very sound-proof....  

Roosters started kicking off at about 2am....  which threw any stereotype of roosters crowing at dawn out of the window. 

 

I kept joking with the owners that I'm going to have Chicken-BBQ the following evening (and pointed to one of the offending roosters)...  

They got the messages and moved the roosters a little further away which I appreciated...   all fairly light hearted stuff, but I was there for a few months and this would have worn thin very quickly... 

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, SportRider said:

It's a nightmare being a responsible dog owner in Thailand.  We keep ours within our walled perimeter, and when taking for a walk he's always on a lead.

 

The problem is, if a bunch of soi dogs get his scent, the gang chases after us and my missus gets super scared.  Often I have to pick him up (he's a Cav).

 

The beach is pretty much the only place we can enjoy taking poor Mutley for a walk.

 

It'll be an unpopular opinion but here goes...

 

Soi dogs are vermin - they are a pest on the local community. 

 

- IF a dog is owned by someone, it needs to have a collar and the owner is legally and financially responsible and accountable for the actions of their dog (that includes covering damages should their dog cause someone to fall off their motorcycle etc).

 

- IF that collared dog is found outside of an enclosed area (i.e. outside of someones home on the street), then that owner should be fined. 

 

- IF a dog does not have a collar, then it has no owner, no one legally and financially responsible and accountable, it should therefor be removed...  Where to ? (this is the unpopular part - either destroyed, or spayed and then sheltered for the rest of its days)... 

 

... The issue of course with all Soi dogs is that they are left free to continue to procreate, so the only thing those feeding them are doing is perpetuating the issue leading to greater numbers of future generations of animal suffering & begging for scraps of food on the street, fighting mange and disease... 

 

True dog lovers would deal with the issue and prevent future generations of animal suffering. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sirineou]

The problem are Thais.

Have anyone notices that 90% of the dogs abandoned are female?

We have 5 street rescued dogs all females. 

Why do you think all these abandoned dogs are female?

Because their owners don't want or cant afford to have the females spayed, and they don't want to have all these babies do they keep the males and abandone the females in the fields,.

Then their males go out and bang the females in the fields and get them pregnant , but hey that's not

their problem. No bad karma for then. 

Only it is their problem because the place id full of dogs, and if I know. karma knows also. 

 

[jvs]

6 hours ago, digger70 said:

Somjit says he does not know reason for the poisonings, as his dogs were raised in closed areas. If they had caused a problem for somebody, they should have come and complained to him, he said.

A witness told reporters that, on March 6, he saw a bronze pickup truck arrive and park in front of Somjit’s plantation. The dogs ran to it, after which and the vehicle sped off. Shortly afterward, the dogs appeared to be suffering from what is believed to be the results of poison ingestion.

 

They were Raised in a closed Area ,Bet ya they were running lose and No Fence around his Property.

If there IS a Fence they would've said so.

Interesting point of view.

Most (all of)the Durian plantations i have seen are all fenced in really well.

If not the crop would be stolen!

Or, you should have at least 19 or so dogs to keep the robbers at bay.

 

[richard_smith237]

3 hours ago, sirineou said:

The problem are Thais.

Have anyone notices that 90% of the dogs abandoned are female?

We have 5 street rescued dogs all females. 

Why do you think all these abandoned dogs are female?

Because their owners don't want or cant afford to have the females spayed, and they don't want to have all these babies do they keep the males and abandone the females in the fields,.

Then their males go out and bang the females in the fields and get them pregnant , but hey that's not

their problem. No bad karma for then. 

Only it is their problem because the place id full of dogs, and if I know. karma knows also. 

 

Good point....    

 

Horrible cynical Thai bash forthcoming - those of a woke persuasion click over to a thread about old guys using Tinder, now...  !!!...

 

Ok here goes...

Just as they do in elections (giving out money to get a desired result)..   If the government gave people 200 baht for getting their dog spayed...   and sponsored the vets for doing so, that would be that.

Dogs would disappear from the streets in a the blinking of an eye, veterinarians would be busy....   but the stray dog issue would be resolved before a new generation could take over. 

 

 

 

 

[sirineou]

9 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Ok here goes...

Just as they do in elections (giving out money to get a desired result)..   If the government gave people 200 baht for getting their dog spayed...   and sponsored the vets for doing so, that would be that.

Dogs would disappear from the streets in a the blinking of an eye, veterinarians would be busy....   but the stray dog issue would be resolved before a new generation could take over. 

Yea I also thought it would add fuel to the inevitable Thai bashing fire as I was writing my response but I thought it was a point that needed to be made, which is why I added  " Or can't afford it" .

  As I said we have five resques, and would have more if we had the room. because our heart breaks when we see these abandoned puppies . Dogs have the capacity for love and the  mentality of a very young child, 

Throwing them in the street is like throwing in the street a young child. Who would do that? 

IMO it takes a stone cold heart. I would be highly suspect of any person who could do that. 

The last puppies we rescued , and who turned out to to be the smartest and best dog I ever had in my life. Seriously!! if she was a human she would be a genius, she can think circles around all the other dogs to the point that we laugh. 

  Anyway she followed us home and stuck her head troughs a hole in our sliding gate, and sat there looking  at us with this big sad puppy eyes while we played with the other dogs. . Finally I broke down and told the wide, "All right let her in" 

I agree and am an advocate of a goverment subsidized program,  I have seen it done in other countries with similar dog population problem with great success. 

[nobodysfriend]

On 3/12/2024 at 6:55 AM, sirineou said:

Yea I also thought it would add fuel to the inevitable Thai bashing fire as I was writing my response but I thought it was a point that needed to be made, which is why I added  " Or can't afford it" .

  As I said we have five resques, and would have more if we had the room. because our heart breaks when we see these abandoned puppies . Dogs have the capacity for love and the  mentality of a very young child, 

Throwing them in the street is like throwing in the street a young child. Who would do that? 

IMO it takes a stone cold heart. I would be highly suspect of any person who could do that. 

The last puppies we rescued , and who turned out to to be the smartest and best dog I ever had in my life. Seriously!! if she was a human she would be a genius, she can think circles around all the other dogs to the point that we laugh. 

  Anyway she followed us home and stuck her head troughs a hole in our sliding gate, and sat there looking  at us with this big sad puppy eyes while we played with the other dogs. . Finally I broke down and told the wide, "All right let her in" 

I agree and am an advocate of a goverment subsidized program,  I have seen it done in other countries with similar dog population problem with great success. 

 

YOU are a good man .

Keep a little empathy to suffering creatures in your heart .

If you are not rewarded in this life , you may be in the next one ...

 

Today the the world is divided into two kind of humans , the ones who still feel empathy and the humons ( human monsters ) , who feel no love and only give hate . And that is the majority .

 

 

Thanks for this

[kwilco]

On 3/11/2024 at 6:03 AM, thesetat said:

This guy had 19 dogs.. As a Thai he allowed them to become soi dogs to run wild in a pack I would bet. My guess is someone got tired of being harassed by them and decided to solve the problem their own way. Too many times I have seen these types of dogs chasing people and cars and bikes down the street. Although I sympathize with the mans plight finding the killer who poisoned them, I would bet there is more in this story not being said about how the man really took care of those dogs. 

We have no evidence, this is assumption.

However dog ownership in Thailand does not follow traditional western patterns...which in themselves goes from lapdogs to 'Bullies" - dogs explicitly bred for violence.

 

Many communities see Soi dogs as an asset as they act as guard dogs to their territories.

 

Thailand has virtually no laws controlling ownership and use of animals and there is a lot of ignorance amongst owners.. a lot of it traditional.

One has to wonder if the poisoner was a foreigner who found him/ herself at odds with these dogs.

 

One problem with dogs is that once in numbers above 3, their behaviour changes into a pack mentality, and this tends to make them more aggressive.

 

So what needs to be found out is why he had so many dogs and what they were used for and how they behaved.

None of this is covered in the article