Why doesn't Thailand do something about all the dogs?

[jimth123]

Thais are Buddhist and believe in the 5 precepts. Suggest you google the precepts and you will understand.

[Rorri]

I think they can start collecting the dogs feces for fertilizer, lol. In my village, we use the manure from cows, pigs, and chickens to fertilize garden or farm. I heard in the city they use human feces to fertilize the vegetables you purchase on the market but I cannot confirm it.

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Dog poo as a fertiliser is not the same as cow, pig, or chicken poo. Dog shit sours the soil.

[pookiki]

It's not only stray dogs, it's stray cats, as well. What irks me the most is there are numerous people on the soi where I live that let their dogs out to roam and crap on the street. Not so bad in the day time when you can avoid the numerous piles. But at night, make sure to check your shoes or slippers before going into your apartment/house!

On a side note, I know some people get really upset about dogs being eaten in some cultures. For me, meat is meat. If there are problems with too many dogs and people want to eat them elsewhere, let market forces reign!

[salapau]

" Who let the dogs out. " Come on this is minor compared to everything else that they don't do anything about here.

[qdinthailand]

Maybe there should be a new thread under cooking: "Soi Dog Recipes".

Everyone should eat their share - problem solved. Possibly why dogs aren't the problem in Vietnam and Cambodia that they are here.

[Somsrisonphimai]

I think they can start collecting the dogs feces for fertilizer, lol. In my village, we use the manure from cows, pigs, and chickens to fertilize garden or farm. I heard in the city they use human feces to fertilize the vegetables you purchase on the market but I cannot confirm it.

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Dog poo as a fertiliser is not the same as cow, pig, or chicken poo. Dog shit sours the soil.

Thanks, this is news to me.

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[joebrown]

On the subject of Soi Dogs. Perhaps I am luckier than OP because there are only about 6 strays in my soi which is about 300 metres in length. However, the front of my house has recently become the local poop depository. I clear it away after it has dried, but with recent rains it's a messy, smelly chore, and the odour lingers on for several days. I don't wish these dogs any harm since they are here as a result of a former owners' neglect . What I want is the brand name of a chemical or natural 'recipe' that can be applied/sprayed onto the cement frontage to my house to prevent these strays returning so often. Any suggestions are most welcome.

[slipperylobster]

and who would pay for it?

Pay for what?

sensible dog ownership?

Sent from my phone with the app thingy.

killing all the strays. by definition they dont have owners

So that is a reason enough to kill? Because no owners.

Gee, why not kill all the animals and wild life, after all according to your logic none have owners.

Now that we finished talking total and utter nonsense , back to OP.

No one does anything about dogs for the same reason why no one does anything about holes in the roads , bikes riding on footpaths , little kids riding bikes, banks not having charge backs for credit cards, major utility company's not having basic options of paying by credit card and list goes on.

Either deal with it or get over it.

Or if you feel somewhat patriotic, can spend some money on curing sick ones( sometimes it only costs 10 baht) so sickness does not spread and desex a few per week or month.

Sure, make them all healthy and send them back out on the streets to procreate. Ingenious.

Perhaps the cure is some good old fashioned neutering.

[thaicbr]

 

and who would pay for it?

Pay for what?

sensible dog ownership?

Sent from my phone with the app thingy.

 

killing all the strays. by definition they dont have owners

Well. If they didn't keep stopping the dog smugglers the Cambodians and Vietnamese would. Usually just before dinner.

But yes it would be far more sensible for the local government organizations to neuter the dogs. Eventually the problem would subside.

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[TheNativeSon]

Thailand passed a law forbidding people from "eating" dogs in 1971, or thereabouts. Yes, the dogs are flea invested and dirty, etc., as you say. However, most of the Thai dogs are non-aggressive (even in packs), for the most part, and avoid conflicts with people.

They still eat dogs in Vietnam, Cambodia and especially in the Philippines. Maybe that's the reason you don't see so many stray dog in those countries.

Again, the stray dogs in Thailand don't bother anyone, so why not just ignore the quirks of Thai culture, and enjoy the rest of it. As John Lennon said, "Let It Be". If you can't do that much, then rest assured, you are not being held hostage in Thailand. You are free to leave, whenever the mood suits you. Capiche?

[lomatopo]

Why doesn't somebody do something?

Smugglers drive Thailand's grim trade in dog meat

(CNN) -- Packed tight into wire baskets -- sometimes 20 or more to a cage -- animal rights activists say as many as 200,000 live dogs every year are smuggled from northeast Thailand across the Mekong River destined for restaurants in Vietnam.

Dehydrated, stressed, some even dying of suffocation on the trip, the dogs are often stacked 1,000 to a truck on a journey that lasts for days.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/02/world/asia/thailand-dogs/

This topic has come up here quite often over the years. There are plenty of threads with details re: local efforts. I'm too lazy to search for them now.

[TheNativeSon]

Not only do these mutts spread ticks, fleas and crap everywhere, but they roam in packs attacking anyone and everything that moves, also the Thai law is you can't step over a mutt on the sidewalk, but must walk around them, meaning you have to step into busy streets.

Yeah, right! And there are crocodiles walking in the streets of Pattaya too, eh?

[wilcopops]

I'm reminded on a time in Cambodia when I commented on the fact that there are few dogs bout and my Cambodian companion replied

"No; in Cambodia we eat dog"

However, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that eating dogs eliminates the population. I think it represents a different attitude to public health and how to treat animals.

most of the Thai attitudes to dogs (and other animals is a matter of superstition and profound ignorance so the situation is really quite out of hand.

Culs don't work.....you have to create an environment where dogs don't thrive - that's all.

There ARE some areas in Thailand where dogs are not so prevalent - Ranong hinterland for one.

[masuk]

To me, this is not a humorous topic in the least. I do care very much about keeping the suffering of these dogs to the minimum possible.

This problem may also have a connection to the various cultural differences in the way people see dogs fitting in to the social order.

I do not think there is a very easy solution.

Of course, anyone who reads the newspapers can see how a place such as China, ShangHai handles this problem.

Their treatment, the government treatment, is extremely harsh and uncaring.

I could never treat a dog the way they are routinely treated in many places around the world.

I think the best solution is to neuter as many as possible, and keep doing it until there is no more strays

This is the only way to reduce suffering.

As a side benefit, then you can get rid of your poop problem simultaneously.

I don't think dog poop is good, even as fertilizer for flowers.

Dog poo used to be an important part of tanning leather back in the old days. Don't ask me how or why, but 'tis a fact.

Tanning leather with doggy poo was once featured on UK TV as 'one of the worlds worst jobs".

[wilcopops]

Think the main problem with the dropping is where the OP Lives, guess anyone living in a concrete jungle will have this problem...

As for countryside and dog poop not a problem.. have 8 house dogs myself, let them out to run around the garden, go around and pick up 2 x a day, but within a very short time insects of all kinds are feeding, and if not picked up the pile has vanished within no time.

City folk maybe get rid of some of the concrete

Dog poop is a huge problem both in town and country; it's not just the poop you can see it contaminates the ground with various diseases that are transferable to humans - these stay for a long time so you'll find that whether in town or country these contaminations are present even if you can't see the poop. In parks and gardens they contaminate the grass where kids play and in the country they contaminate the dirt where our vegetables grow.

Edited November 17, 2013 by wilcopops

[masuk]

Some people do try and do something. They have varies methods from neutering to selling them to the Vietnamese (shortages there)

Sent from my phone with the app thingy.

Isn't it a Thai cultural and religious thing to look after animals? The few soi dogs we had near Maejo were well-looked after, and heaven help any strange car or person who entered the area, let alone a new dog.

In my new street in Suthep, the owners are well trained, and even the 10 (ten) dogs behind me are exceptionaly well-behaved and never bark at night.

My neighbour has a dog which I suspect has had tick paralysis for a long time. She feeds it, cleans it, takes great care, but elsewhere it would have been put down a year or two back, as it is in a semi coma.

[laobali]

To the OP:

In my 25 years of living here and coming to Thailand since 1979, I Would say that part of the answer is based on a developed mentality and or attitude amongst the Thais.

To the average Thai, what harm is there having the dogs roaming around on the street while dog poop and mangy flea infected, health hazard dogs are the last thing on their minds as only a Farang would notice this problem and actually point it out

The other factor is they are all thinking alike where everyone is waiting for someone else to do something about the problem...that is after it becomes a problem, but the problem is not the problem itself rather the other people who make it a problem and force the problem upon them while making them help resolve the problem that was not a problem to be concerned about in the first place as there is not a problem to be addressed until someone else creates the problem by pointing out this or that is a problem ( but not to them or not their concern at all ) so the Thais react by saying: My Ba Lai ..which can often mean: What problem?, relative to the issue or conversation.

They may or may not think: Oh yeah that could be a problem but not my problem so I did not ever notice that problem because that would not be my problem as that would be your problem or another persons problem because you noticed it and then you made an issue out of it and now made it into a problem, while I do not concern myself with such issues so it is not a problem rather you noticed the problem in the first place so now you should be the one to fix the problem because as a Thai person I have no problem living amongst the dog shit all over the place and the dogs howling and barking all the time and all too often fighting and dog packs randomly forming while many dogs are roaming about the street being a general nuisance and possible hazard while the last thing on my mind is fleas and ticks all over a mangy street dog while I have more important personal matters to attend to such as where is the nearest local Som Tom stand.

Geez ..only a farang would notice this sort of stuff.

The dogs are the problem and not myself as a Thai person so why are you talking to me about this as you should use your brain a little bit here and try to understand Thai people and how they think, the Thai way that is ( why?...because your here in Thailand, that is why...Duh ) so I think the best solution ( that is if you want my Thai opinion ) is to go to where the dogs are a problem and have a heart to heart talk with the dogs themselves and let them know you are not happy about this problem they are causing.

If you need an interpretor or someone to help make yourself understood I can come along as they may not understand your English, as they are Thai dogs.

Meantime, Jai Yen Noi.

Ditto for Laos, also a "Buddhist" country. There is no problem until someone decides there is one. But it's their problem alone. They have to deal with it (mentally). No one else cares. If they try to make it someone else's problem, that becomes a different kind of problem!

[wilcopops]

Thais are Buddhist and believe in the 5 precepts. Suggest you google the precepts and you will understand.

If you think that is the answer, the n you are patently wrong - just look at other buddhist countries and you'll see a remarkable amount of contradiction to that hypothesis.

[wilcopops]

pssst! I agree with you. i was asking these guys how they would propose getting rid of the dog problem that bothers them so much.

My apology for misunderstanding your post

Those who are bothered, never do anything but complain.

There are a few members here who do , do something.

As Friedman said in one of the movies " can change the world one step at a time"

I don't like them

I don't complain about them

I am not bothered by them

I therefore do not carry pepper spray with me,

I just walk along and if they are dumb enough to make a rush at me I just stare at them.

I am not dumb enough to pretend that they won't try to sneak up on me. they did that to my son. Fortunately for him the dog was not rabid.

That kill all wild animals comment was ill thought out. He would change his mind mighty fast if it was wild tigers roaming in packs. Here to the best of my knowledge it is only wild dogs that roam around the streets. Also snakes have invaded the area.

Back where I come from Racoons are now showing up in cities and caioties (sorry about the spelling) are starting to be seen in the out lying areas.

....and have you asked why?

[wilcopops]

What's so special about dogs? I have never been able to understand this.

We routinely keep farmyard animals in appalling conditions then slaughter them amidst serious trauma. We destroy wild life and the habitat of wildlife without a second thought. We 'control the numbers' of certain species in the interests of conservation. We poison vermin of all sorts.

But 'controlling' the stray dog population? It is sacrilege to suggest such a thing.

I think this says more about human psychology than it does about dogs. I hate cruelty to animals but, if claim to have compassion, we should divide it evenly between the species. And if we do, this might mean killing dogs (and possibly a few feral human beings!)

A cow or rooster is not considered a companion animal. Humans have kept dogs near to them for milenia. Thats what makes them special. Could you not figure that out yourself ?

you might take a closer look at the dogs in the streets in Thailand and you'll notice that very few actually fit your criteria.

[attrayant]

Nobody has ever asked this before! Amazing!

If you could provide me with a list of every topic that has been covered in the forums here, I'll make sure never to duplicate any. That'd be great.

why doesn't somebody do something about all those humans?

they are all over the place and causing all kinds of problems

Why do you think the planet is running a fever now? It's trying to get rid of us.

Yes Thailand is a Buddhist country - live and let live and all that. But does that mean we can't do something to control an overpopulation of animals when they start to become pests and health hazards?

I suppose we'll just have to wait for another epidemic of bubonic plague before somebody wakes up.

Another DOGS! thread

Do a search. Everything that can possibly be said has been said.

And yet this thread is now four pages long, thanks in part to you. Seems as though people still have something to say about the topic. Seriously, if you're not interested in a thread, don't open it. How hard is that?

[wilcopops]

Im not sure whether u would state Thailand as a third world country, a backward country or a progressive country... But either way, this is what you expect to find . The people just really dont care about the pot holes, the stray dogs, the rats running around the back of street vendors and the list goes on. Lack of money, lack of education, who knows. A different culture, a different way of thinking, different food, times of eating , it all goes into one melting pot... This is thailand.

Time and again people roll out the word "culture" as if it is some kind of catch-all excuse. It isn't because it isn't a definable concept in the first place....if you look at those examples of culture well..........just shows the paucity of the argument.

[wilcopops]

I think they can start collecting the dogs feces for fertilizer, lol. In my village, we use the manure from cows, pigs, and chickens to fertilize garden or farm. I heard in the city they use human feces to fertilize the vegetables you purchase on the market but I cannot confirm it.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Dog poo as a fertiliser is not the same as cow, pig, or chicken poo. Dog shit sours the soil.

Thanks, this is news to me.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Poop straight from the dog ()or any carnivore) is not a good fertiliser, in fact it is positively harmful. However if composted then almost any poop is OK. Raw poop from vegetarian animals is in generals OK.

[wilcopops]

Im not sure whether u would state Thailand as a third world country, a backward country or a progressive country... But either way, this is what you expect to find . The people just really dont care about the pot holes, the stray dogs, the rats running around the back of street vendors and the list goes on. Lack of money, lack of education, who knows. A different culture, a different way of thinking, different food, times of eating , it all goes into one melting pot... This is thailand.

Thailand doesn't merit the title "third world" by any of the definitions for that. I think you'll find that in general it is referred to as an "emerging" nation. (they certainly aren't short of a bob or two.)

[wilcopops]

The world would be a better place if not only mangy stray dogs were rounded up and culled but stray dog lovers as well.

Naaa...in fact, the world would be a MUCH better place without those, such as you - totally lacking empathy and compassion!

It never ceases to amaze me that westerners (especially Brits) come to "exotic" Asia to find a lifestyle, that they couldn't find @ home. Then they complain about the way Asian people have done "their thing", for many generations.

There are many neighborhoods in Thailand (usually ethnic Chinese), where stray dogs are not permitted by community referendum. Move into one of those neighborhoods, instead. Problem solved!

Maybe Brits tend to have more of a mentality of improving the life of those around them?

[Rimmer]

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[Travel2003]

the strays in General do not bother me,,,live and let live

it is the ones that try to bite me that I would like to vaporise

unfortunately I hear it is illegal to kill a a vicious dog here

I dont think that is illegal.

But beware of the so called "animal lovers" here.

[super22k]

The suffering of these poor dogs is the resposibility of the local government.It is disgraceful and Thailand should be ashamed of itself.Also,can the monks,who are supposed to love animals,put some kind of pressure on local government.

If an animal is suffering it is better the local authorities "put it to sleep".This way it stops the suffering and stops the dogs breeding more dogs to suffer.

[circusman]

Not only do these mutts spread ticks, fleas and crap everywhere, but they roam in packs attacking anyone and everything that moves, also the Thai law is you can't step over a mutt on the sidewalk, but must walk around them, meaning you have to step into busy streets.

Rubbish post. Thai law ?

[circusman]

I have lost two dogs to rat poison (asshol_e neighbor....he is not there anymore but I do not know anything about *that*), it is not a pretty sight.

I like most dogs better than most people.

The more people I know, the better I like my cat.