Phuket's Soi Dogs Launches 'Trade Of Shame' Campaign Against Dog-Meat Trade

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Phuket's Soi Dogs launches 'Trade of Shame' campaign against dog-meat trade

Phuket Gazette

The Thai Veterinary Medical Association estimates that as many as 500,000 Thai dogs per year are transported to Vietnam and Southern China, where they are butchered for dog meat. Photo: Soi Dog Foundation

Most recently several successful interceptions have been made in Ubon Ratchathani as smugglers try to outfox the authorities by changing routes. Photo: Soi Dog Foundation

PHUKET: -- The Phuket-based Soi Dog Foundation has launched a “Trade of Shame” campaign to raise awareness of the illicit dog meat trade in Asia.

The Thai Veterinary Medical Association estimates that as many as 500,000 Thai dogs per year are transported to Vietnam and Southern China, where they are butchered for dog meat, the Soi Dog Foundation says.

“The conditions under which the dogs are transported and slaughtered are horrific and many die from suffocation long before they reach their final destination. In reality these are the lucky ones.

“Those that have survived the unbearable journey are then brutally killed due to people believing that the more pain inflicted before death the more tender the meat will be. The dogs are tortured for hours and then often skinned alive,” said foundation says.

In almost all cases, the dogs are stuffed into rusty cages that are piled onto trucks. The cages are then put onto boats for the short river crossing to Laos, where they are then loaded onto more trucks for the journey to Hanoi.

The Soi Dog Foundation and Thai government officials are working together to end the practice.

“Since the first raid last August, when nearly 2,000 dogs were intercepted near Nakhon Phanom – though many had died already from suffocation, en route to Laos – there have been several other successful interceptions by the Thai police and Thai navy.

“Most recently, several successful interceptions have been made in Ubon Ratchathani as smugglers try to outfox the authorities by changing routes… Some arrests have been made, but penalties imposed have been light when prosecutions have occurred,” said the release.

The current law for the illegal export of live animals and carcasses allows for a jail sentence of up to two-years and a fine of up to 40,000 baht.

The Soi Dog Foundation is calling for people to join its Trade of Shame campaign to raise awareness and stop the trade.

For more information, visit the Soi Dog Foundation website.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle16164.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-06-11

[HongKongPhooey]

I never normally donate to organisations such as SDF. I can't get my head around the logic of spending money nursing unhealthy, unwanted street dogs back to life, when a painless, lethal injection could put them out of their misery instantly. I can't understand how people would rather spend money on that than on children for example.

This however is a different kettle of fish. Putting an animal through that amount of suffering is deplorable. People should be given some leeway based on their culture and their primitiveness, but their is a line of decency which all humans should have made it past by 2012.

I wish them all the best with their work in this area. It won't be an easy thing to stop that's for sure.

[Gillespie]

...as many as 500,000 Thai dogs per year are transported to Vietnam and Southern China, where they are butchered for dog meat...

The implication being that nobody in Thailand would eat a dog. Hmmm...

[HongKongPhooey]

It wasn't implying that at all. The amount of Thai people that eat dog is minute. In Issan it's a bit more prevelant, but certainly not a revered dish as it is in Vietnam and China and not enough to eat half a million of them each year.

If it was they wouldn't bother shipping them all that way would they.

[phompen]

...as many as 500,000 Thai dogs per year are transported to Vietnam and Southern China, where they are butchered for dog meat...

The implication being that nobody in Thailand would eat a dog. Hmmm...

When I was in Phuket, I've bought a grilled chicken stick, it was smelling really awful, exactly the same smell as a dirty wet dog... I've trown it in a litter...

I cannot tell at 100% it was dog meat, but i'm almost sure it was not chicken, the appearance was not like chicken...

Edited June 11, 2012 by phompen

[HongKongPhooey]

^ Dog meat being sold to Farang on the street in Phuket? What ever you say mate.

[LivinginKata]

An off topic and inflammatory post removed. Lets stay only with the dogs topic.

[cowslip]

OK - eating dogs is repellant to most westerners, but I would submit that this isn't really the problem. The fact is that Thailand's attitude to animals in general is utterly out of step with civilised and humane practices.

The fact that there are 500,000 dogs bred or wandering around the streets is unacceptable in the first place....and it is this the Thai authorities should be dealing with. (small localised culls don't work BTW). Dogs spread diseases that are contractable by humans (a lot more than rabies) they can pose a direct danger of attack to humans, they cause motor accidents and interfere with garbage disposal and civic hygiene.

As far as eating these animals - this is clearly neither a humane or hygienic way of supplying meat for human consumption. In a society that is "siwilai", any animals (usually domesticated) that are used for humn consumption have to go through a pretty rigorous set of regulations and inspections - would you eat pork or beef treated like this? - if you are going to export dogs for food then they should be farmed regulated etc etc....... However I have to ask in this day and age if the eating of dog meat is anything more than a misguided idea of tradition - I very much doubt if the protein derived from this trade can't more easily be got elswhere.

Edited June 11, 2012 by cowslip

[cowslip]

BTW - does anyone remember the British TV docco about dog consumption? Legs are usually broken and tied behind their backs - they are then kept alive as long as possible as this keeps them fresh without the need for refrigeration.

then it showed a party of Koreans preparing a dog for slaughterThey hung it up in a tree for several hours and beat it whilst they were drinking - the object being to terrify the animal and make the flesh more tender.

[HongKongPhooey]

^^ Agree with most of that, but I don't have a problem at all with people eating dog if it's bread humanely. I don't agree that a misguided idea of tradition is a problem.

If people like the taste of something and it's a part of their culture then how could anybody have a problem with what people eat. As long as it's humanely reared, farmed and transported and is sustainable, I don't think people's strange tastes or cultural habits should be considered.

Edited June 11, 2012 by HongKongPhooey

[SgtPepper]

Surely, if they were transporting 500,000 dogs a year, I wouldn't see so many stray dogs around town!

[how241]

...as many as 500,000 Thai dogs per year are transported to Vietnam and Southern China, where they are butchered for dog meat...

The implication being that nobody in Thailand would eat a dog. Hmmm...

I knew a lady, from Chaing Mai , who told me that many of her older family members eat dog.

[iPhoneBKK]

the really scary thing is, what would the streets look like with 500,000 more dogs a year roaming them

[belg]

soi dogs are a big problem for hygiene and safety... if some thai people can get rid of the problem and make a quick buck exporting them for meat, personally, i do not see the problem

we had soi dog problems, entering our moo bahn, security agents just dont give a 2 cents to do their job

many are deseased and flee ridden and aggressive

[HongKongPhooey]

soi dogs are a big problem for hygiene and safety... if some thai people can get rid of the problem and make a quick buck exporting them for meat, personally, i do not see the problem

we had soi dog problems, entering our moo bahn, security agents just dont give a 2 cents to do their job

many are deseased and flee ridden and aggressive

Say what now!!

Animals being skinned alive as a justifiable way of controlling an annoying soi dog problem? You're kidding me right?

[pistachios]

Agree with belg. Few things can be done in thailand if there isn't a money incentive. Most people don't give a shit about anything if it doesn't directly involve their close circle.

Soi dogs are a big problem in thailand, but if some legal money can be made by exporting them to countries where they are needed, I can guarantee there will not be many dogs roaming the streets anymore.

If the issue here is the poor transportation conditions, it would be much more efficient to prevent this by regulating dog trade like any other animal trade.

[BookMan]

...as many as 500,000 Thai dogs per year are transported to Vietnam and Southern China, where they are butchered for dog meat...

The implication being that nobody in Thailand would eat a dog. Hmmm...

When I was in Phuket, I've bought a grilled chicken stick, it was smelling really awful, exactly the same smell as a dirty wet dog... I've trown it in a litter...

I cannot tell at 100% it was dog meat, but i'm almost sure it was not chicken, the appearance was not like chicken...

Probably just chicken meat gone bad..maybe some other type of bird...Chicken is not expensive, not a lot of need to substitute.

[gand]

...as many as 500,000 Thai dogs per year are transported to Vietnam and Southern China, where they are butchered for dog meat...

The implication being that nobody in Thailand would eat a dog. Hmmm...

When I was in Phuket, I've bought a grilled chicken stick, it was smelling really awful, exactly the same smell as a dirty wet dog... I've trown it in a litter...

I cannot tell at 100% it was dog meat, but i'm almost sure it was not chicken, the appearance was not like chicken...

Between rat meat, dog meat and anything else they can get their hands on, I stay away from street vendor meat.

[sandrabbit]

If there was some control of soi dogs then there wouldn't be a trade in them, I deplore the conditions they're transported but sometimes wish it on them when I have to cross a road or go in a different direction to avoid a pack of semi feral dogs. It's a nice sentiment the Thais (and some farang) feeding them but it just encourages more soi dogs. I know a number of people who have been bitten recently, it's becoming a Thai tattoo same as an exhaust burn from a scooter.

[cowslip]

^^ Agree with most of that, but I don't have a problem at all with people eating dog if it's bread humanely. I don't agree that a misguided idea of tradition is a problem.

If people like the taste of something and it's a part of their culture then how could anybody have a problem with what people eat. As long as it's humanely reared, farmed and transported and is sustainable, I don't think people's strange tastes or cultural habits should be considered.

"if it's bread humanely." - a sort of hotdog sandwich then?

[cowslip]

Someone suggested they were "needed" - this is the thing about dog meat - it ISN"T needed and it isn't cheap - the more it's consumed as a delicacy the more profitable it becomes and the bigger the trade gets.

To suggest the "exporting" dogs (especially without regulation) will solve the soi dog problem is just not credible. To make any noticeable indent on the dog population there has to be a huge (govt) campaign to STOP FEEDING the animals - which is quite the opposite of what the dog exporters want....they'd like a large and healthy soi dog population that they can pick and choose freely....

Before anyone suggests it, culling and even sterilisation can only have a minimal effect so long as a large number of people believe they will make merit by feeding these pathetic mutts. The population of any animal is determined by the food supply and in Thailand for days it is plentiful allowing a large permanent population in most areas. If you check areas without many dogs it isn't because as some simpletons suggest the locals eat them, it is because the locals don't feed then and prevent them from accessing their garbage.

Edited June 11, 2012 by cowslip

[cowslip]

Farming - on a worldwide scale if you look at the range of domesticated, animals farmed for food , you'll notice a distinct lack of dogs - together with several other species. THis is because over the last few millennia man has selectively bred the BEST species for converting vegetation into protein for human consumption - if days were any good they would be up there with cows, pigs and sheep - have you noticed that most domesticated animals are vegetarian or omnivorous? This is because they need to fit in with agricultural cycles. Man needs to get an efficient source of protein from the vegetation he grows and the waste he produces - dogs don't do that - they have other useful functions though.

So why eat dog? Essentially S.E. Asia and China has for centuries suffered from a boom and bust cycle of feast and famine. In these circumstances there develops a culture of eating everything and anything. A culture that is now steeped in tradition, so whilst not necessary, the practice of eating dogs and other animals not bred for mass consumption has continued. In the West we eat venison, hare and other game - this too is quite unnecessary but it has the cachet of "tradition" that some people think is worth carrying on.......

Edited June 11, 2012 by cowslip

[HongKongPhooey]

If they want to eat dog that's their business. They just need to do it without any unnecessary suffering to the animal is all. All cultures all over the world eat things that aren't bred for mass consumption, that's irrelevant.

You don't think it's "a tradition worth carrying on" but they obviously do, otherwise it wouldn't carry on it would stop.

[jeancherry]

like hot dog

Edited June 11, 2012 by jeancherry

[cowslip]

If they want to eat dog that's their business. They just need to do it without any unnecessary suffering to the animal is all. All cultures all over the world eat things that aren't bred for mass consumption, that's irrelevant.

You don't think it's "a tradition worth carrying on" but they obviously do, otherwise it wouldn't carry on it would stop.

THeir own business?

Well as the dog meat trade already appears to be having ramifications in other countries it would seem it's other people's business too.

It also appears that "there business" will effect the environment and health of others. If they want to eat dog then it would be normal humane rctice to set up a dog farming system that is in step with the rest of the world - I think then the price might well put a lot of these people off.

There is no famine amonst these people at present and they certainly wouldn't starve if deprived of their dose of dog food - which as the meat is produced in uncontrolled abattoirs is probably putting their own health at risk too - and that cost is then passed on to others in the form of higher health care costs.

"You don't think it's "a tradition worth carrying on" but they obviously do, otherwise it wouldn't carry on it would stop." - as for this - well it appears you are stating the "bleedin' obvious" to quote J.C, but I don't see your point here.

Edited June 11, 2012 by cowslip

[cowslip]

the really scary thing is, what would the streets look like with 500,000 more dogs a year roaming them

You really don't get it?

If you remove so many dogs they are quickly replaced by newly bred animals so long as the food supply is there.

how many Soi dogs do you imagine there are in Thailand?

Edited June 11, 2012 by cowslip

[gand]

What choice does a boy have between his poor staving dog and his girl? about 8 minutes in you get the answer.

A Boy and His Dog 7 of parts 1 - 7

A Boy and His Dog (1975)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072730/

[KCPhuket]

OK - eating dogs is repellant to most westerners, but I would submit that this isn't really the problem. The fact is that Thailand's attitude to animals in general is utterly out of step with civilised and humane practices.

The fact that there are 500,000 dogs bred or wandering around the streets is unacceptable in the first place....and it is this the Thai authorities should be dealing with. (small localised culls don't work BTW). Dogs spread diseases that are contractable by humans (a lot more than rabies) they can pose a direct danger of attack to humans, they cause motor accidents and interfere with garbage disposal and civic hygiene.

As far as eating these animals - this is clearly neither a humane or hygienic way of supplying meat for human consumption. In a society that is "siwilai", any animals (usually domesticated) that are used for humn consumption have to go through a pretty rigorous set of regulations and inspections - would you eat pork or beef treated like this? - if you are going to export dogs for food then they should be farmed regulated etc etc....... However I have to ask in this day and age if the eating of dog meat is anything more than a misguided idea of tradition - I very much doubt if the protein derived from this trade can't more easily be got elswhere.

I do mostly agree with the above post. There are things called spay and nueter which we promote in the USA.. If you can remove the market source, you can certainly reduce the problem. I t does come down to educating the Thai people and breaking the chain of learning by copying the parents' behavior. Too often, the oficials just talk about good ideas and then nothing is done. Why is it so difficult for Thai people to emulate cultures that have solved similar problems already. (The methods are there!)

I would love to see on Phuket 1) many less dogs running loose 2) the billboards come down as promise, and 3) pick up the stinking trash.

[Jobiwankenobi]

"Koo lek ma.....ma lek koo.....ma lao deu!!!!!"

[quandow]

As an avid cyclist, I can attest that semi-feral dogs are an absolute menace. To date, I've avoided having skin broken by their fangs, but it's been close a couple of times. Would a campaign to sterilize these dogs, then return them to the streets, meet the confusing standard of humane treatment towards these animals? Wouldn't this be cost-effective, considering how much money is spent on rabies shots, aftermath of accidents, and the public feeding of these creatures? I am by NO means a dog person, but treating all living creatures decently should be on everyone's agenda.