Police Seize 880 Dogs From Suspected Smugglers

[Lite Beer]

Police seize 880 dogs from suspected smugglers

The Nation on Sunday

MUKDAHAN:-- Police yesterday seized 630 dogs discovered in a warehouse in Mukdahan's Wan Yai district and another 250 dogs found in cages left in a wooded area of Muang district.

The dogs are believed to have been destined for dinner tables in a neighbouring country.

Following an 8am tip-off that dogs' wails could be heard coming from the warehouse, located on the Mekong riverbank in Tambon Wan Noi, police found 42 cages, each containing 15 to 20 dogs. They suspected dog smugglers were keeping them there for transport across the Mekong River.

Following a tip-off that caged dogs had been abandoned in a wooded area in Ban Soon Mai, police and Mukdahan veterinarian Narong Rattanatraiwong went to investigate and found 11 cages, each containing 10-15 dogs, scattered in the woods. It is believed that after being alerted to the warehouse seizures, dog smugglers changed their route but ran into a dead-end and abandoned the cages before fleeing. Mukdahan officials, having no facilities to support the dogs, sent them to a centre in Buri Ram.

-- The Nation 2012-04-22

[thequietman]

Animals have always been regarded in Buddhist thought as sentient beings, different in their intellectual ability than humans but no less capable of feeling suffering. Furthermore, animals possess Buddha nature (according to the Mahāyāna school) and therefore an equal potential to become enlightened. Moreover, the doctrine of rebirth held that any human could be reborn as an animal, and any animal could be reborn as a human. An animal might be a reborn dead relative, and anybody who looked far enough back through his or her infinite series of lives would eventually perceive every animal to be a distant relative. The Buddha expounded that sentient beings currently living in the animal realm have been our mothers, brothers, sisters, fathers, children, friends in past rebirths. One could not, therefore, make a hard distinction between moral rules applicable to animals and those applicable to humans; ultimately humans and animals were part of a single family. They are all interconnected

Still, money trumps everything here in the Land of Smiles. Thailand, Hub of Cruelty.

[trainman34014]

And what do they intend to do with these 880 Dogs? Chances are corrupt officials will end up selling a lot of them to where they were intended to go in the first place !

[PaulHamon]

Moreover, the doctrine of rebirth held that any human could be reborn as an animal, and any animal could be reborn as a human. An animal might be a reborn dead relative, and anybody who looked far enough back through his or her infinite series of lives would eventually perceive every animal to be a distant relative.

Right so these dogs are taken, kills and eaten and their soul, or whatever you want to call it, is reborn...

Maybe it was just there time to move along... up or down the in the rebirth stakes.

Some of the dogs have horrible lives and not just soi dogs, some owner treat their dogs very bad...

So maybe their desmise and food for people table is the chance at a better (re)life!

[PaulHamon]

Cow, Monkey, Chicken, Pig, Dog, Frog... difference? zero. If we're happy to kill one, why not all?

[Bladerunner]

Animals have always been regarded in Buddhist thought as sentient beings, different in their intellectual ability than humans but no less capable of feeling suffering. Furthermore, animals possess Buddha nature (according to the Mahāyāna school) and therefore an equal potential to become enlightened. Moreover, the doctrine of rebirth held that any human could be reborn as an animal, and any animal could be reborn as a human. An animal might be a reborn dead relative, and anybody who looked far enough back through his or her infinite series of lives would eventually perceive every animal to be a distant relative. The Buddha expounded that sentient beings currently living in the animal realm have been our mothers, brothers, sisters, fathers, children, friends in past rebirths. One could not, therefore, make a hard distinction between moral rules applicable to animals and those applicable to humans; ultimately humans and animals were part of a single family. They are all interconnected

Still, money trumps everything here in the Land of Smiles. Thailand, Hub of Cruelty.

I think these people shoud be sent for attitude reajustment because they are definitly not what they pretend to be Buddhists, Dogs are intelligent beings are we ????

[jsflynn603]

The practice of selling dog-meat goes on in the US too, though in the form of canned meat. I'm not sure if it's illegal or not (in America) but I suspect it is. Still I know for a fact that in 1987 there was at least one canner who sought dog meat for canning out of New York. They were investigated by the FDA, not because the meat was "dog" rather because the canner was attributing "medical qualities" to the product. Dog meat is more to those who eat it than mere "meat" in is purported to increase virility and therefore increase certain aspects of virility. The concept is anathema to many, but culturally acceptable to others.

Interestingly dog meat, if properly butchered is legal in Canada. In Ghana it's a delicacy.

Sometimes the dog bites back though.... Xavier Mertz of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition died of Vitamin A poisoning after eating the livers of some of his sled dogs which were butchered. At least two confirmed cases of rabies have occurred in China transmitted by the consumption of dog meat.

[TackyToo]

Animals have always been regarded in Buddhist thought as sentient beings, different in their intellectual ability than humans but no less capable of feeling suffering. Furthermore, animals possess Buddha nature (according to the Mahāyāna school) and therefore an equal potential to become enlightened. Moreover, the doctrine of rebirth held that any human could be reborn as an animal, and any animal could be reborn as a human. An animal might be a reborn dead relative, and anybody who looked far enough back through his or her infinite series of lives would eventually perceive every animal to be a distant relative. The Buddha expounded that sentient beings currently living in the animal realm have been our mothers, brothers, sisters, fathers, children, friends in past rebirths. One could not, therefore, make a hard distinction between moral rules applicable to animals and those applicable to humans; ultimately humans and animals were part of a single family. They are all interconnected

Still, money trumps everything here in the Land of Smiles. Thailand, Hub of Cruelty.

I think these people shoud be sent for attitude reajustment because they are definitly not what they pretend to be Buddhists, Dogs are intelligent beings are we ????

As much as I share your view I also think this is a little naïve. 90% of the Thai Buddhist I know only use Buddhism to ask for good luck and forgiveness of well calculated wrongdoings (not to use the word sins) as lying, stealing and cheating at a temple, while the philosophy says:

"If you're a Buddhist, you don't ask for anything from a god. You just practise dharma, to be more like the Buddha. Buddha teaches us to let go of greed.”

When you talk to them about it, the answer is always the same: You are farrang you don’t understand!

[FarangTalk]

Are they still peddling the myth that Thais themselves don't eat dog meat and it's all for a neighbouring country?

As much as I share your view I also think this is a little naïve. 90% of the Thai Buddhist I know only use Buddhism to ask for good luck and forgiveness of well calculated wrongdoings (not to use the word sins) as lying, stealing and cheating at a temple, while the philosophy says:

"If you're a Buddhist, you don't ask for anything from a god. You just practise dharma, to be more like the Buddha. Buddha teaches us to let go of greed.”

When you talk to them about it, the answer is always the same: You are farrang you don’t understand!

Thais believe in a mixture of Buddhism, Animism, Brahmanism, Hinduism and a mix of various other minor and superstitious beliefs.

Thais themselves are not usually educated enough to understand what they practice is not actually Buddhism.

[Bladerunner]

Animals have always been regarded in Buddhist thought as sentient beings, different in their intellectual ability than humans but no less capable of feeling suffering. Furthermore, animals possess Buddha nature (according to the Mahāyāna school) and therefore an equal potential to become enlightened. Moreover, the doctrine of rebirth held that any human could be reborn as an animal, and any animal could be reborn as a human. An animal might be a reborn dead relative, and anybody who looked far enough back through his or her infinite series of lives would eventually perceive every animal to be a distant relative. The Buddha expounded that sentient beings currently living in the animal realm have been our mothers, brothers, sisters, fathers, children, friends in past rebirths. One could not, therefore, make a hard distinction between moral rules applicable to animals and those applicable to humans; ultimately humans and animals were part of a single family. They are all interconnected

Still, money trumps everything here in the Land of Smiles. Thailand, Hub of Cruelty.

I think these people shoud be sent for attitude reajustment because they are definitly not what they pretend to be Buddhists, Dogs are intelligent beings are we ????

As much as I share your view I also think this is a little naïve. 90% of the Thai Buddhist I know only use Buddhism to ask for good luck and forgiveness of well calculated wrongdoings (not to use the word sins) as lying, stealing and cheating at a temple, while the philosophy says:

"If you're a Buddhist, you don't ask for anything from a god. You just practise dharma, to be more like the Buddha. Buddha teaches us to let go of greed.”

When you talk to them about it, the answer is always the same: You are farrang you don’t understand!

oh ok I understand now it's just a cover to get away with everything they do,as is the smile, all farangs are stupid, all I can say to this comment is What goe's around comes around sooner or later !!!

[Gers1873]

800++++ less stray dogs would have been a bonus.

Noticed more dtrays on Jomtien beach yesterday being 'encouraged' by a well meaning, if slightly deranged, woman. She was stopping every 50M or so dumping chicken/rice on the sidewalk for the strays......... and encouraging vermin such as rats..... the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[Cuban]

Cow, Monkey, Chicken, Pig, Dog, Frog... difference? zero. If we're happy to kill one, why not all?

They are very different, dogs respond and relate to humans in a way that no other animal does.

Dogs have been companion animals for humans for maybe 20-30 thousands of years, other animals have been farmed as food for about 15 thousand years.

There is much documented scientific research that shows dogs watching human faces and responding to human expressions and language, there is a dog in German that understands a vocabulary of some 300 words and images, more than any dolphin or chimpanzee.

[louse1953]

Are they still peddling the myth that Thais themselves don't eat dog meat and it's all for a neighbouring country?

As much as I share your view I also think this is a little naïve. 90% of the Thai Buddhist I know only use Buddhism to ask for good luck and forgiveness of well calculated wrongdoings (not to use the word sins) as lying, stealing and cheating at a temple, while the philosophy says:

"If you're a Buddhist, you don't ask for anything from a god. You just practise dharma, to be more like the Buddha. Buddha teaches us to let go of greed.”

When you talk to them about it, the answer is always the same: You are farrang you don’t understand!

Thais believe in a mixture of Buddhism, Animism, Brahmanism, Hinduism and a mix of various other minor and superstitious beliefs.

Thais themselves are not usually educated enough to understand what they practice is not actually Buddhism.

Yes,they are brainwashed,same as every other religion.

[how241]

And what do they intend to do with these 880 Dogs? Chances are corrupt officials will end up selling a lot of them to where they were intended to go in the first place !

Certainly possible but let us hope for a better outcome.

[geriatrickid]

Interestingly dog meat, if properly butchered is legal in Canada. In Ghana it's a delicacy.

False: Dog meat is only legal if it is inspected by a certified agricultral inspector, i.e. a DVM assigned to slaughterhouse.

There are no known dog slaughterhouses that certify dogmeat. As such, the supply of the meat it is not "legal".

True: Africans do eat just about anything, including what we call "bush meat"; the flesh of close relatives such as gorilla and chimpanzee. It is also why Africans suffer from a series of parasites and other debilitating illnesses. Idi Amin was known to chow down on the vital organs of his opponents. His feasting on the entrails of humans did not make it right.

[sawadeeken]

May the perps of this cruelty die and come back as dogs and then be served up on those Laos and Vietnamese tables after being boiled alive........... Som-Nam-Na....... (what goes around, comes around)

[chrisinth]

Cow, Monkey, Chicken, Pig, Dog, Frog... difference? zero. If we're happy to kill one, why not all?

They are very different, dogs respond and relate to humans in a way that no other animal does.

Dogs have been companion animals for humans for maybe 20-30 thousands of years, other animals have been farmed as food for about 15 thousand years.

There is much documented scientific research that shows dogs watching human faces and responding to human expressions and language, there is a dog in German that understands a vocabulary of some 300 words and images, more than any dolphin or chimpanzee.

Whereas it is true that "Dogs have been companion animals for humans for maybe 20-30 thousands of years", it is when humans disregard this companionship and let them run semi-feral because they can't be bothered that put the animals in this predicament.

It is also the human element of this relationship that complains and gets them rounded up because they perceive them as a threat or just plain unsightly.

To that end, the rounding up and removal of these dogs is in fact doing the majority a service. Perhaps they should not be sent to neighbouring countries, but donated to countries in Africa where they would feed the hungry, and that may make you all feel better?

BTW, I am a responsible dog owner myself and consider them as companions. However, I would never take advice from them no matter how clever I might think they are. Take the German dog you mentioned above out of the labratory and give it a life!

[jalansanitwong]

Sakhon Nakorn province in NE Thailand (isan) is well known as a place where dogs are farmed and eaten. Thais eat dogs. Nothing to do with Buddha. Make cheap guard dogs too.

[01322521959]

What on earth is the difference between eating dog or pig. When you see the way the English government have brought in such high standards for the rearing of pigs, countries like Thailand are still in the dark ages. Unless you can make animal wellfare universal, whatever that animal might be, how can we all get on our high horse and and show mock shock at a few animals being exported for eating. I for one am sick to death with the way I can't even walk back from a park without a pack of mutts scaring the life out of me and knowing that if one of them bites me it's a trip to the hospital for a course of injections at MY expense. Exports up, sounds like good news to me.

[Woodcaulk]

Ah yes...the wonders of religious bastardizations and the various interpretations thereof. Just think a stray (no pun intended) word missplaced here or there and the world would be a bastion of peace and filthy, mangy, dangerous, and obnoxious soi dogs would be not.

[Jim walker]

I have been to Sakhon Nakorn province a few years ago and at a market where they were selling dog meat it shocked and horrified me to comprehend that they were actually still eating dogs in Thailand in the 21^st century I would expect something like this in a backward third world country where the people are uneducated not in Thailand.

Since that experience I have been a regular donator to Soi Dog

http://www.soidog.org/ and feel at least I am doing my little bit to alleviate some of the suffering for the unfortunate animals.

[bigbamboo]

Cow, Monkey, Chicken, Pig, Dog, Frog... difference? zero. If we're happy to kill one, why not all?

They are very different, dogs respond and relate to humans in a way that no other animal does.

Dogs have been companion animals for humans for maybe 20-30 thousands of years, other animals have been farmed as food for about 15 thousand years.

There is much documented scientific research that shows dogs watching human faces and responding to human expressions and language, there is a dog in German that understands a vocabulary of some 300 words and images, more than any dolphin or chimpanzee.

I know the one... he's even posted on here. He a big red shirt fan too!

[Skywalker69]

I have been to Sakhon Nakorn province a few years ago and at a market where they were selling dog meat it shocked and horrified me to comprehend that they were actually still eating dogs in Thailand in the 21^st century I would expect something like this in a backward third world country where the people are uneducated not in Thailand.

Since that experience I have been a regular donator to Soi Dog

http://www.soidog.org/ and feel at least I am doing my little bit to alleviate some of the suffering for the unfortunate animals.

[whybother]

I have been to Sakhon Nakorn province a few years ago and at a market where they were selling dog meat it shocked and horrified me to comprehend that they were actually still eating dogs in Thailand in the 21^st century I would expect something like this in a backward third world country where the people are uneducated not in Thailand.

Since that experience I have been a regular donator to Soi Dog

http://www.soidog.org/ and feel at least I am doing my little bit to alleviate some of the suffering for the unfortunate animals.

"a backward third world country where the people are uneducated not in Thailand"

Just some areas of Thailand.

[Lite Beer]

RT@RichardBarrow: Mukdahan Province: 62 of the dogs, rescued from the smugglers, have died from the heat so far http://t.co/3LhXnCdE

[MEL1]

I actually took the delicacy of dog and chips, with HP sauce, in Korat this weekend.

The counter table was rotatable, and there was a special large plate for spitting out the chewed dog bones onto as a sign of respect before marrowing.

I enjoyed a good dog thigh cut. It was scrumptious and marinated in Thai lemon, som tam sauce and Chinese 5 spice coincidentally.

When I saw the rotunda return about, full of bones, I felt remorse. My immediate thought was,

"dam_n it, the dog would have loved chewing on those bones"!

-mel.

[denishuahin]

I have 2 dogs and don't let them roam both are spayed, they would be perfect targets for the local dog catchers lovely clean looking dogs. I see the dog catchers pass my house on Nang Rong to Lamplaimat Rd. Not so many now, but as last year nearly everyday motorbikes with cages on the back with up to 15 dogs crammed in sad sight to see. Thai's swop their faithful friend for 50 baht or 100Baht baskets, But the temtation 100b - dog, 100b - dog, 100b - dog money wins! So many Thai people just give them their dog who they have been living with them upto 5 years. Very hard to understand but now they have a nice basket they don't have to look after that.

[Mosha]

800++++ less stray dogs would have been a bonus.

Noticed more dtrays on Jomtien beach yesterday being 'encouraged' by a well meaning, if slightly deranged, woman. She was stopping every 50M or so dumping chicken/rice on the sidewalk for the strays......... and encouraging vermin such as rats..... the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Some of those dogs may well have been stolen pets. There was one such case on the Thai TV last month I believe.

[Markaew]

I have been to Sakhon Nakorn province a few years ago and at a market where they were selling dog meat it shocked and horrified me to comprehend that they were actually still eating dogs in Thailand in the 21^st century I would expect something like this in a backward third world country where the people are uneducated not in Thailand.

Since that experience I have been a regular donator to Soi Dog

http://www.soidog.org/ and feel at least I am doing my little bit to alleviate some of the suffering for the unfortunate animals.

Where do you think you are?

[OriginalPoster]

Why is it necessary to "smuggle" these animals, is dog meat illegal in Thailand?