Hi all, this is my first post in this pet forum.

A neighbour of mine, who lives opposite me, recently bought three dogs and is keeping them in a cage. They are barking constantly which is an annoying form of noise pollution, I noticed that they are probably barking because of being kept in a small sized cage. Back home, I'd call the authorities; is there anything I could do in Bangkok?

Assuming the neighbor is Thai, I think it really depends on how much you want to feel comfortable in your neighborhood. What, if any, authority that might handle the situation surely won't be discreet about it. The dog owner will know who has reported them.

In the spirit of "mai pen rai", Thais aren't used to being called out for poor behaviour, and don't react well when confronted.

So the previous poster is saying that in order to keep "comfortable" in the neighbourhood the OP should ignore a potential animal abuse situation? That's a disgusting bit of advice.

Sorry I can't offer any direction on this other than to mention that there was a question in the Phuket Gazette a couple of weeks ago regarding what to do about a neighbour who was beating his dogs. He was directed to the Provincial Ombudsman's Office (Damro-ngtham Center) to fill out a complaint form.

Another person wrote in to ask after complaining about their neighbour's dogs incessant barking. They were directed to contact their local Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) as they are responsible for handling such concerns.

Alternatively you can try contacting your Provincial Livestock Office for direction.

I also suggest that you have evidence (photo or video) of the dogs' situation otherwise it is simply your word against the owner's. If you provide them evidence they will go and investigate.

They also mention to provide the correct address of your neighbour to save time.

I hope this is at least a little helpful.

Good luck to you and I hope you can make some progress for your own sanity, if not for the poor dogs.

Hi all, this is my first post in this pet forum.

A neighbour of mine, who lives opposite me, recently bought three dogs and is keeping them in a cage. They are barking constantly which is an annoying form of noise pollution, I noticed that they are probably barking because of being kept in a small sized cage. Back home, I'd call the authorities; is there anything I could do in Bangkok?

Is your neighbour a Thai or a Westerner?

If he's Thai, the previous poster has offered possible authorities. If he's a Westerner, its worth confronting him about his cruelty.

Westerners would have the opposite 'loss of face' issue, and (although initially angry that someone confronted them about their behaviour) would go away and be far more embarrassed to know that someone thought they were behaving so badly!

I've seen it happen in practise, and the Westerner behaved far better towards his dogs afterwards and felt the need to attempt to justify his behaviour to (other) neighbours afterwards. Needless to say, the other neighbours were just glad that someone had finally said something and that it had worked!

http://www.thaispca.org/