Rising stray dog population in Thailand poses health concern

[kiwikeith]

The western and Thai opinion of how to deal with strays is the complete opposite. Thais think the dogs should be allowed to roam around and be free. Even if they are dying painfully, let them die naturally. Most westerners think they should be put down.

I'm not saying which one is right or wrong, but something has to be done about these dogs.

what is needed is an SPCA or the likes of and a council that rounds stray dogs up.

Those tested rabies positive or are completely mangy should be put down immediately.

Those that show attitude that they can be fostered out should be kept for 2 to 4 weeks ,if not adopted then put down as is the case in most properly dog controlled countries.

The problem being that the enlightened ones don't want to spend money or inherit bad karma from putting their reincarnated relations down.

[laolover88]

700,000? Who counted them? Let alone sexed them.. Dogs as family pets are one thing. Any child bitten by a rabid stray/street dog amounts to murder by negligence of the local and national government..

[jeab1980]

'' neutering female dog the cost can go up to 2500 Baht''......... all very caring but it doesn't stop them crapping all over the place and

Edited April 20, 2016 by jeab1980

[Dumbastheycome]

Any roaming dog without a legal owner and registered should be humanely put down. If you want to have a dog, look after it and don't let it roam and be a nuisance to others.

I agree. Attempting to house and maintain has already led to problems. What could be termed the "tough love" initial response could achieve a situtation where the populace understands the longer term benefits for dogs as well as people. Even the initial cost to Government would likely be offset by the lessening of long term subsidized vaccination programs for dogs plus the medical treatment of random victims.

The similar predicament in Bali , Indonesia was effectively dealt with even in the face of a similar social attitude.

There are still many dogs but the huge majority can be identified to a person or a household by the community. Strays do not seem to stay long. And yes, they eat dog in Bali too !

[thai3]

They all need to be put down!!

No, you need to be put down. Every so called soi dog has someone who regularly feeds it,

Yes, thus making a serious problem worse with their silly mis placed 'compassion' and making a merit fail. NOBODY is seriously going to make a difference sterilizing a few here and there, it's too expensive and while you might have done 200, in one place another load have been born in another. The figures are staggering, but probably underestimated. Chipping mangy soi dogs at 500 baht a time is also too expensive and seemingly pointless. There is far too much sentimentality about these pests and while everyone tut tuts, feeds them and does nothing in no time the numbers will be 10 million. It's only a matter of time before a major rabies outbreak occurs and the feeders and soi dog lovers will be partly to blame. They DO have to go, and not relocated to another place either.

[Wilsonandson]

they are a bloody nuisance in my soi, shitting everywhere,aggressive, roaming the streets, barking all <deleted> night long, and all the male dogs have still got their balls, nothing will ever get done, the only worse place i know for dogs was India.

Don't worry, that's not a dog it's djamie having a night out on the beer! 555555!!!

[huahinboilerman]

we live (unfortunately) in petchaburi and i occasionally walk the back roads, pass many stray dogs and to date have never been attacked or pestered by dogs.

more often than not its the thais that cause the problems.

[Saan]

It is an attitude thing too I think.

My neighbour has a lovely dog who I am fond of and who spends a lot of time at my place.

But when a bitch is in season he often limps around with bits and pieces missing.

I told my neighbour I would pay for the dog to be de-sexed but he recoiled at the thought of his lovely boy losing his crown jewels.

[bubba1]

There are some things done but it cost a lot of money in a country where the average worker has less than 300 Baht a day. Last year my students administrated about 500 rabies vaccine shots to dogs, total cost for the college was over 100,000 Baht. If you are living outside BKK and have a dog then look if/when there is a "Fix It Center" that's when colleges under OVEC repair things, vaccinate dogs and so on for free.

How about the poor and hungry humans in Thailand?

What kind of 'college' is this? Care to share the name? Any decent higher education in Thailand is called a university.

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

The only greater concern is the rising stray man population...

[kamahele]

A spay and neuter program in which the neutered dogs are returned back to the same neighborhood does wonders if the money to run the program could be raised. The neutered dogs remain territorial and keep other dogs out. It would be cheaper to educate the population but don't see any chance in hell of either happening.

[thai3]

The money would be many, many millions and will never be raised, neutering up to 3 million dogs is a pipe dream

Edited April 20, 2016 by thai3

[Veeke]

There used to be a group of people in Kerala of India around 15-20 years ago who were highly skilled in killing stray dogs without inflicting any pain and Kerala used to be the only place in India where one could go around without any fear of stray dogs. However this disease of animal love (without any brain) has changed the situation in that place drastically. There has been this campaign of 'loving stray dogs' personification and identifying with the 'feelings of a stray dog' catching up in Kerala too especially among a section of middle class people and today this skill of eliminating stray dogs is extinct.

It is a good fashion to be loving and being lovable to stray dogs - the sufferers are mostly small children of the poorest families who can be safely ignored(!). For the older people who would like to take up a morning walk are increasingly intimidated by the dog menace.

It is time for the state and society to weigh the merits and demerits of this "love". Where do we find a balance of sanity and love...... why don't we love rats and other pests?

[Prbkk]

They could easily reduce the stray dog population by hiring Cambodian and Vietnamese dog catchers...problem solved..

It reminds me of the old ( bad taste) Australian joke:

Q. How can you tell that it was Vietnamese burglars?

A. The dog's missing but your maths homework has been done.

[Scotwight]

There are some things done but it cost a lot of money in a country where the average worker has less than 300 Baht a day. Last year my students administrated about 500 rabies vaccine shots to dogs, total cost for the college was over 100,000 Baht. If you are living outside BKK and have a dog then look if/when there is a "Fix It Center" that's when colleges under OVEC repair things, vaccinate dogs and so on for free.

How about the poor and hungry humans in Thailand?

What kind of 'college' is this? Care to share the name? Any decent higher education in Thailand is called a university.

Thailand has an "I eat too much" problem not a starvation problem. Thailand has to import the beggars from Burma to get that hungry look. Universities offer master’s and doctoral degrees which require completion of the bachelor’s degree first. Universities tend to be larger. Some large universities will have divisions named “The College of Liberal Arts” or the “College of Engineering.

[Brer Fox]

Everybody knows that stray Thai dogs are rounded up and trucked into Vietnam. The problem is that the Vietnamese are a bit choosy about what sort of dog they prefer on the platter. Big fat old dogs are not so popular in Vietnam. Instead what the Viets like the smaller terrier yapper types such as Chihuahuas which apparently are easier to cook because of size. Those ancient decrepit old hounds skulking around the sois have little appeal in the delicacy stakes. A bit like comparing buffalo to veal. Get used to living with it. Just like the Hindus do with their monkeys.

[bubba1]

There are some things done but it cost a lot of money in a country where the average worker has less than 300 Baht a day. Last year my students administrated about 500 rabies vaccine shots to dogs, total cost for the college was over 100,000 Baht. If you are living outside BKK and have a dog then look if/when there is a "Fix It Center" that's when colleges under OVEC repair things, vaccinate dogs and so on for free.

How about the poor and hungry humans in Thailand?

What kind of 'college' is this? Care to share the name? Any decent higher education in Thailand is called a university.

Thailand has an "I eat too much" problem not a starvation problem. Thailand has to import the beggars from Burma to get that hungry look. Universities offer masters and doctoral degrees which require completion of the bachelors degree first. Universities tend to be larger. Some large universities will have divisions named The College of Liberal Arts or the College of Engineering.

So the 100,000 baht impressed you? That's a good Friday night out for many of us.

Another lowly educated idiot without real world experience

[torpedo1970]

Don't worry stray dogs. This problem has been known for a very long time and no one seems to be willing to do anything about it.

Nobody is willing to do anything about anything in Thailand. The country just potters along stumbling from one disaster to another.

I think the stray dogs matter is way down the pecking order as there is no angle to make (BIG) money out of these wretched hounds.

Export to Vietnam and China could be a lucrative operation of organized on some scale ;-)

There was a successful trade doing just that, but the dog huggers got in the way.

Laotians eat the mutts as well.....

Yes, i read about that somewhere that there was a crackdown on that...............

[Scotwight]

How about the poor and hungry humans in Thailand?

What kind of 'college' is this? Care to share the name? Any decent higher education in Thailand is called a university.

Thailand has an "I eat too much" problem not a starvation problem. Thailand has to import the beggars from Burma to get that hungry look. Universities offer masters and doctoral degrees which require completion of the bachelors degree first. Universities tend to be larger. Some large universities will have divisions named The College of Liberal Arts or the College of Engineering.

So the 100,000 baht impressed you? That's a good Friday night out for many of us.

Another lowly educated idiot without real world experience

I'm quite well educated and experienced in the world, thank you very much. I think you have me confused with another poster. I mentioned nothing about 100,000 baht. I only posted to aquatint you with the fact that starvation is not a problem in Thailand - overweight and eating too many sweets is and the academic difference between a college and university is usually granting advanced degrees not the quality of the school.

Edited April 20, 2016 by Scotwight

[huahinboilerman]

might be better idea to round up the stray plissheads and send them to laos/vietnam

[bubba1]

How about the poor and hungry humans in Thailand?

What kind of 'college' is this? Care to share the name? Any decent higher education in Thailand is called a university.

Thailand has an "I eat too much" problem not a starvation problem. Thailand has to import the beggars from Burma to get that hungry look. Universities offer masters and doctoral degrees which require completion of the bachelors degree first. Universities tend to be larger. Some large universities will have divisions named The College of Liberal Arts or the College of Engineering.

So the 100,000 baht impressed you? That's a good Friday night out for many of us.

Another lowly educated idiot without real world experience

I'm quite well educated and experienced in the world, thank you very much. I think you have me confused with another poster. I mentioned nothing about 100,000 baht. I only posted to aquatint you with the fact that starvation is not a problem in Thailand - overweight and eating too many sweets is and the academic difference between a college and university is usually granting advanced degrees not the quality of the school.

Let me guess you are an English teacher or some other filth that cares more about dogs than people?

If you think people aren't starving in Thailand you really need to get out of your shell or farang ghetto and get out a bit.

[reggaebkk]

Cheapest and most effective solution: ask 2 or 3 cheesy and talentless Thai show business "superstar" figures to write on facebook that dog meat is delicisous.

In 6 month the brainwashed masses will be eating authentic hod dogs 3 times per day... no more stray dogs in a year... easy and free when people are so facedumb...

[Scotwight]

So the 100,000 baht impressed you? That's a good Friday night out for many of us.

Another lowly educated idiot without real world experience

I'm quite well educated and experienced in the world, thank you very much. I think you have me confused with another poster. I mentioned nothing about 100,000 baht. I only posted to aquatint you with the fact that starvation is not a problem in Thailand - overweight and eating too many sweets is and the academic difference between a college and university is usually granting advanced degrees not the quality of the school.

Let me guess you are an English teacher or some other filth that cares more about dogs than people?

If you think people aren't starving in Thailand you really need to get out of your shell or farang ghetto and get out a bit.

I'm not a teacher and have lived all over Thailand for more than a decade. I live in a Thai community and adopt soi dogs, and neuter and spay them. I feel one should try and help instead of just talking about it so I care for stray dogs and make sure they don't reproduce.

Thais always leave a bit of food on their plates to be polite and if you look at the scraps on the ground and the food thrown away it becomes obvious Thailand is not a country with a food problem. Wats will always give food to the poor and with half the population still involved in agriculture there may be many problems in Thailand but the availability of food is not one of them.

[Gary A]

Everybody knows that stray Thai dogs are rounded up and trucked into Vietnam. The problem is that the Vietnamese are a bit choosy about what sort of dog they prefer on the platter. Big fat old dogs are not so popular in Vietnam. Instead what the Viets like the smaller terrier yapper types such as Chihuahuas which apparently are easier to cook because of size. Those ancient decrepit old hounds skulking around the sois have little appeal in the delicacy stakes. A bit like comparing buffalo to veal. Get used to living with it. Just like the Hindus do with their monkeys.

You may be correct but the bucket trucks took every dog that was offered.

[kickstart]

There are some things done but it cost a lot of money in a country where the average worker has less than 300 Baht a day. Last year my students administrated about 500 rabies vaccine shots to dogs, total cost for the college was over 100,000 Baht. If you are living outside BKK and have a dog then look if/when there is a "Fix It Center" that's when colleges under OVEC repair things, vaccinate dogs and so on for free.

/quote]

" 500 rabies vaccine shots was over 100,000"

That works out at 200 baht a shot ,I can and have brought rabies vaccine for 30-40 baht a shot ,our local ,Pasu-sat office ,Department of Livestock Development ,will give you rabies vaccine for free , and some years our local village headman will come round and inject a house full of dogs for less than 100 baht ,enough to cover petrol expenses .

I have a feeling that the vaccine was free ,from the Department of Livestock Development ,in BKK.

So I think, some one some were ,did all right out the job ,as the students did the job ,no wages involved ,makes you wonder.

[Ulic]

Vietnam will be happy to help.

[lenscapasia]

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.

[Darren palmer]

Time for a culling i think,

[huahinboilerman]

i agree to the culling but mainly of the drunken ex pats who spoil it for everyone else they don't need rabies to be violent or disgusting they do it naturally

[chowny77]

They need to be either neutered or put down humanly. Most stray dogs hang out around temples, markets and 7/11's, so not hard to find. Owners who do not put a collar on their dogs and take care of them should be fined as this is the main reason for the over population of dogs here. The one thing I would not like to see even though soi dogs can be a pain in the ass, is that they are going to be sent for meat in another country. Each to their own but I would never knowingly eat dog or cat for that matter.