Rising stray dog population in Thailand poses health concern

[ZeldasCavern]

How many accident have to happen, people get sick or bitten, trash get spread all over the place before something is done?

This is a serious problem that should be taken care of by the government authorities in every province, town and city.

If you want to have a dog, look after it and don't let it roam and be a nuisance to others.

My friend had a motorcycle accident because a dog jumped out at him and passenger while returning home, 40,000K Bht later, nothing happened to the dog, but friends were bandaged, out of commision for a couple of weeks and motorcycle needed to be repaired.

I've been chased more than a few times and have taken up a stick at a few in defence.

On the Soi's they're constantly a "Nuisance" scaring people walking, chasing motorcycles or cars. Waking us up at all hours of the night/morning...

It's amazing in such a tourist conscience country they just let this go on.

The hotel next door looks disgusting outside because the dogs are constantly shitting everywhere, as well as ripping & spreading the trash all over the place.

Any roaming dog without a legal owner and registered should be rounded up, offered for adoption, or humanely put down!!!

[ukrules]

What really annoys me is when I'm sitting having a sandwich and a coffee on some road side cafe / restaurant and some of the other customers are feeding food to these filthy insect infested beasts.

If large numbers of the dogs had rabies then the problem would sort itself out in a couple of weeks.

[huahinboilerman]

i feel more annoyed about the filthy infected 2 legged beasts roaming the streets

[huahinboilerman]

non thais included

[miketu]

The Royal Thai Army and Police should do what we GI's did in Udorn and Ramason Station 40+ years ago. Once a month as needed we went on a dawn patrol with M-16's duce-and-a-half trucks and plenty of ammo and bagged about 20 or 30 of them. Took them down to the pepper-grinder and burned them. Never a dog problem at Ramason or Udorn back then.

[chowny77]

The Royal Thai Army and Police should do what we GI's did in Udorn and Ramason Station 40+ years ago. Once a month as needed we went on a dawn patrol with M-16's duce-and-a-half trucks and plenty of ammo and bagged about 20 or 30 of them. Took them down to the pepper-grinder and burned them. Never a dog problem at Ramason or Udorn back then.

I did hear of this being a routine thing uptil about 15 yrs ago. I heard that someone VERY, VERY high up said that this had to stop. Shame they could not stop their own son from shooting a pooch owned by said person because he was annoyed about something.

[huahinboilerman]

glad to notice a few of the locals did the same to your lot .

[Sydebolle]

I don't get it; Pattaya alone must have more than 100'000 stray dogs - they are absolutely EVERYWHERE and, coming in a close second - there is the cat society on the rise too.

While across the Mekong - dogs in Vietnam end up in butchery shops - Thais are so disturbed by this. Same with turkey which is common in Laos but inedible in Thailand. It is a matter of principle, if you eat pork, chicken, beef and/or fish then what is the problem with dogs or turkey. I accept any vegetarian but not eating veal being the offspring of buffalo cattle while enjoying suckling pig ........

Get my point? It is yet another society problem with our dear Thais

[poohy]

My friend had a motorcycle accident because a dog jumped out at him and passenger while returning home, 40,000K Bht later, nothing happened to the dog, but friends were bandaged, out of commision for a couple of weeks and motorcycle needed to be repaired.

Same happened to me last year no real damage luckily, but trying to get anything from Thai owner was impossible,(not his dog just stray not his dog wife just feed little bit outside not his dog ....get the idea!) yet i suspect if one of my dogs caused a problem the aggrieved Thai would demand money from me.

​I do like dogs but really a humane cull of all strays is the only real solution ..... along with the guy who didn't own that dog!

[chrisinth]

Successful anti-dog trafficking campaign to surrounding countries.

Massive increase of soi dogs, potentially leading to the spread of fatal diseases such as rabies to the general public.

Coincidence?

I don't think so. Just because a tradition offends some people doesn't necessarily mean that it is wrong in the overall picture.

Disrupt the food chain in any given scenario, sh*t is going to happen...........................

[fey]

very similar to the litter problem in the country

thais cant face the negative in anything, as if ignoring it makes it go away.

so it works until you get bit. even then i know many who would still be smiling

[shann]

It's very worrying so many with rabies. I volunteered at a dog and cat rescue shelter in tha Mai before but with sponsors dropping out all the time it's difficult for them to take in more animals. I also know they come out when possible to spay soi dogs and do vaccinations. Facebook Mali und dereks hunde.

I have been chased by six dogs early one morning but some cars passing provided cover for me as the soi dogs are pretty smart about crossing the road. Bloody scary I'm an animal lover but do worry about rabies the aggression. I saw a vet come from Australia to preform spaying maybe that's the only help really to stop the numbers growing but how many vets are willing to do this?

[thai3]

My wife was bitten by a rabid dog last year, think it was 5 visits to the hospital, 4 other people also were bitten. After this idiots were still trying to feed it but eventually after it bit 2 kids somebody stoved it's head in with a metal bar. It got collected and tested resulting in a mini mass panic in the moo baan. They still feed the damn things, including the security men, it's well known why Thais attitude to soi dogs has gotten a lot softer over the past few years. They need to get something done about it and quickly, but spaying millions of dogs is not practical or affordable.

Edited April 21, 2016 by thai3

[spidermike007]

The soi dog situation in Thailand is inane and ridiculous. It is an absolute cop out. The refusal or inability to address a glaring problem. Just act. Men act. Children sit around idly and do nothing.

[ozyjon]

How soon will a foreigner start a campaign to tackle the problem

now watch the donations roll in.

[Gary A]

Several years ago in our area, we had no dog problems. A pickup truck that we called the bucket truck gave people a plastic bucket for each unwanted dog. Then a group of bleeding heart farangs pressured the government to outlaw these trucks. They went so far as to raid the collection points. The bleeding hearts had not thought where the funds would come from to feed these dogs and thousands of them starved to death. Now the farmers are left to their own means to control the dogs. It's not a nice thing to see dogs poisoned and killed in even worse ways. I happen to be a dog lover but would rather see these dogs humanely killed for food than being starved and poisoned.

I am not quite sure where you think these dogs were being taken where they were "humanely killed for food". Dog meat is very tough so the dog is routinely tortured by being skinned alive, boiled alive or beaten to death so that certain enzymes are released to tenderize the meat. No dog being exchanged for a bucket met a humane end. These are sentient beings in many ways as intelligent as humans. Would you like to meet that end? We are all animals. Why should you survive and the dog not? Thank god for the bleeding heart liberals of which I am proudly one. All it takes is effort and compassion. Here on Samui we have a free dog neutering service for strays thanks to a great charity and other compassionate expats take others to locals vets to ease the load and pay the money to neuter them. In my street all dogs have been neutered and so have all the dogs in the local temples near me. There is still a problem with too many stray dogs, but poisoning them is not the way. Neutering them is. I have 6 rescues. Last week I had seven but some "compassionate" human decided to put poison on the beach and not warn pet owners. So my eleven year old lab ate strycchnine and died in front of my eyes on his 11th birthday. Anyone here who is advocating culling dogs - this is how the Thais will do it. It is the most painful horrific way to die, and if you can wish that on anyone or anything then you cannot sleep easy at night. If you have a problem with strays in your street, sort it out. It is encumbent upon you to do your part. Feed them, show them love, give them shelter in the rain, take them in if you can. And get them neutered, And the person who asked which idiot made it a crime to kill animals. I suggest you pop up to the palace because it was the king, a great dog lover, with children who have rescued hundreds of street dogs themselves. Many soi dogs now live in royal palaces. You can see them in the princes palace on Khao San road. It is your turn, if you want to live here, to do your bit too. These poor animals need kindness, compassion and help.

It would be a great world if we were compassionate and if something needed to be killed, it would be done humanely. Whatever that method would be? Neutering is also a good way but how many people would go to that trouble especially if they had to pay for it. In this area, feral dogs have had rocks thrown at them and shot with sling shots. I am not able to get within 50 feet of the feral dogs. The bucket truck guys were experts at catching them. Locals would help with the captures. I once asked those guys how the dogs were killed. They told me a head size hole was in the killing cage. The dogs would stick their heads through and a club or baseball bat was used. Chicken killing feral dogs in this area usually poisoned. A fatal blow on the head is far more humane than poison.

[thai3]

As long as they are killed I am not really that bothered, but somebody needs to get on with it

[kekalot]

hmmm, I actually saw a truck around in Cha-am picking up two strays while I was walking back from the Wednesday market with my girlfriend.

since I was just walking back, I only saw two picked up and put into cages on the back of a pickup but a minute or two later heard one or two more yelping

not sure if they were catch and release after shots/neutering or killed of but my gf was being mopey about it.

I love my dog and dogs in general but after being cornered by several very aggressive dogs quite a few times, actually bit two times (for absolutely no reason both times) and my dog being attacked by those mangy dogs every chance they get, I am hoping they were taken to deal with the problem.

I'm from Canada where dogs that are allowed to roam free are taken to the dog pound/shelter and if not claimed by anyone or adopted after X amount of time they get euthanized.

gf was complaining about them most likely being killed and eaten in Isaan/vietnam/wherever.. I asked why she cared so much, as she was eating chicken/pork/etc which were also "cute" (well at some point at least) and then killed for food.

also I offered to show her the picture I took in Isaan of a huge pig that was caged in with metal bars and only offered food/water, not allowed to ever get out of that cage so it would get as fat as possible, she didn't want to see that..

she seemed to get the idea for half a minute (typical) but then told me that she could not stop eating chicken because "aroy mak!", which made me laugh.

Edited April 21, 2016 by kekalot

[jak2002003]

The army should go around each province and shoot any dog they see on the street.

I am an animal lover.. I have my own 2 pet dogs.. but I never let them out on their own onto the street to take care of themselves.

With such large numbers of street dogs in Thailand, spaying and neutering is not a solution simply due to the numbers and cost.

Some of the dog lovers posts on here are crazy. Taking into you home all the dogs on your street and socialising, training and neutering them is not going to happen. Imagine your house full of 30 stinky diseased aggressive dogs!

Fines for dogs crapping on the pavements.. wow... do street dogs read now? Do they have money to pay the fines?

Feeding the dogs does nothing to help... it makes the problem worse as they are able to reproduce better.. have bigger litters of puppies, and more survive to breed themselves.

People do actually get bitten and attacked and it IS the dogs fault... why some dog lovers think dogs will only attack if the human does something to upset them.

I have been badly bitten by a street dog... and I was cycling down a street I used every day for 10 years. The first thing I knew about the dog was when I felt it attacked to my leg... it did not bark.. it hunted me silently.

And, referring to another post on this tread, not every dog on the street has a carer and someone to feed it.

What is the point of microchipping the street dogs? How does that help?

We had a pack of street dogs actually attack and kill a young cow last year.. my own chickens got killed by another pack... and several people. including children, have been injured in road accidents when they were either chases by dogs or dogs ran out in front of them in the village.

Next time you dog lovers go out.. walk, or use a pushbike... see how the dogs in the streets react to you... look at the ones sleeping on the pavements outside shops... look at their crusty skin, infected eyes, see them scratching and biting themselves from fleas.. watch them bark and attack people and other dogs... that is NO LIFE for an animal.

Edited April 21, 2016 by jak2002003

[Moonmoon]

U cannot blame dogs as they only live on their instincts which is to eat n reproduce. That being said, its up us humans to do what is good n right for them. Alot of thais r not educated enough in this n like some of the comments above stated thais think its better for them to roam free n be natural n they seem to think getting their dogs neutered or spay is a bad thing as well. I have help out all the strays around my area getting them vaccinated n even some neutered n spayed. But its the dogs which have owners r of concerned to me as i come across some owners who simply dont bother at all n just want to keep getting puppies after puppies cos they r cute n when they turn big these owners just let them roam free n eventually they become soi dogs when infact they r not.

[Lampang2]

If you read old Donald ducks from the 70's you realize that at a time there was small trucks driving around in the US picking up stray dogs.

So what's the problem with that scheme?

[Lampang2]

When mentally ill people in civilized countries goes berserk and get like 15 dogs in a flat, the police will soon be there and relive her (mostly women) of the dogs or cats.

In Thailand that never happens.

We have a crazy dog woman a couple of blocks away from us.

Nothing ever happens.

All her dogs are kept within her walls, being fed once per day in the late night, a lot of barking when dinner is about to be served.

[thai3]

The army should go around each province and shoot any dog they see on the street.

Most sensible comment yet

[Nobb]

I have two dogs in my fenced in yard which i love greatly. But if these dogs roam the streets and bite or kill some one which is always possible. They should be taken to a shelter and adopted by another dog lover. if not put to sleep in a respectful way. I walked my dog on the street and it was attacked by two crazy dogs. After two months of Vet care for stitching and visit every week i decided that these strays or peoples dogs need to be taken in by a shelter or put away. I was also riding my scooter and attacked by another dog. Two times rabies shots and no one want to claim to be responsible for the dogs. Make Thailand safe for your self and you children to walk on the street. I love dogs but changes are needed!

[Moonmoon]

The army should go around each province and shoot any dog they see on the street.

Most sensible comment yet

haha ya why not, since the ncpo n army r clearing the street vendors n beach chair mafias, why not 1 more step to return happiness to the ppl

[thai3]

It would be to protect the people and to clean up the place and make it start to look something like it needs to, millions of mostly nasty stray dogs roaming about just cannot go on.

[Artisi]

We should all give 100 bht to animal hospitals every year this should be compulsory for everyone living in Thailand over 18yrs of age. Or better still as most can not afford this small amount, charge Llong term guests to Thailand. Let's say 200 bht every time they go imagration for whatever reason. That way all provinces will get money and help vets deal with dogs

Yeah sure, and a bit more to father Christmas as well- what a load of cobblers. Would be better to put Bht 100 bounty per head - problem would be sorted overnight.

[biplanebluey]

We should all give 100 bht to animal hospitals every year this should be compulsory for everyone living in Thailand over 18yrs of age. Or better still as most can not afford this small amount, charge Llong term guests to Thailand. Let's say 200 bht every time they go imagration for whatever reason. That way all provinces will get money and help vets deal with dogs

How about a bounty of 100 baht for every dead dog . will help the poor raise some cash and get rid of these disease ridden filthy dogs.

The grey squirrel was hunted successfully in the UK yrs ago with the offer of one shilling a tail.THAT WORKED.I know----I made a lot of pocket money in those days !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Balance]

Let's assume that the government is not going to kill the dogs as Thailand is a Buddhist country. So, they need to neuter the males or spay the females. Although spaying the female dogs is more efficient, this is major surgery and simply not practical. However, a male dog can be neutered in 5 minutes and if sutured and antibiotic is given after, there is little chance for infection. Need small vans, army guys to tranquilize the dogs with dart guns and two or more vets or technicians per van. Could be paid for my adding stiff tax for each puppy born in the puppy mills in Thailand.

[thai3]

How ,long do you think it will take to do this to about a million dogs and the cost?