Help dogs rescued from the barbaric dog meat trade

Thanks to people like you, progress is being made to bring Thailand’s illegal dog meat trade to an end. While the numbers of dogs being smuggled across the northern borders is decreasing, this fight is far from over.

Thanks to Thailand’s recently introduced animal welfare laws, the smugglers are having a difficult time undertaking these illegal and cruel activities, with recent raids being performed and lives being saved.

In the north-eastern province of Nong Kai in Thailand, a concerned local provided a tip off to our undercover agents who acted in cooperation with the Royal Thai Army. Sadly 14 dogs were found slaughtered, however an arrest has been made and the perpetrator will now face justice under Thailand’s Animal Welfare Law.

Another recent raid had a better outcome with four dogs being saved from a brutal fate.Our investigators recently received intelligence from Sakon Nakhon, in the north-east of Thailand, about dogs being grabbed from the street late at night by men on motorbikes. Our anonymous source mentioned having seen the dogs packed, 1 or 2 to a sack, before the bikes sped away with them.

Upon receiving this tip-off, our investigators, with the cooperation of the Royal Thai Police, staked out the surrounding area. In the early hours of the morning, they spotted a suspicious motorbike and one of the police officers stepped out and stopped it. The driver immediately threw a sack on the ground and fled the scene at great speed. Inside the sack was one live dog.

Our investigators and the police followed the direction the bike had been headed in when stopped, and found, in a jungle clearing, a small cage containing another 3 dogs. It emerged that the area was a make-shift holding place, where dogs were kept until sufficient numbers were accumulated.

From there, they would be smuggled over the border and on to Vietnam, where they would be cruelly tortured and slaughtered for their meat. All four dogs are received food and medical treatment and are being safely sheltered. They are four incredibly lucky dogs.

Adoptions of dogs rescued from the dog meat trade are still going strong. Soi Dog has been building relationships with rescue partners on the US, UK and Europe to get more dogs into loving homes. Sadly, just under 1000 of these dogs still remain in shelters though and only with your help can we keep them fed and sheltered and have all their medical needs attended to.

As you can imagine, helping so many animals in need is costly, and as we receive no government funding, we rely totally on generous people like you to help the dogs and cats of Thailand. Thank you for caring so much about the street dogs and cats in in Thailand and southeast Asia. 

Only because of people like you have we been able to make progress in bringing Thailand’s illegal dog meat trade to an end. Sadly though, we have a long way to go and your help is still needed.

Adoptions of the dogs rescued from the dog meat trade is still going well and thanks to rescue partners in the US, UK and Europe, we have been able to get around 180 of these survivors out of shelters and into their new and loving homes. There are still just under 1000 of these dogs still remaining in shelters though and only with your help can we keep them fed and sheltered and have all their medical needs attended to.

Thanks to new animal welfare laws introduced in Thailand in late 2014, and with the assistance of the Thai government and undercover agents, are dog smugglers now being held accountable for their actions. Arrests are now resulting in heavy fines and custodial sentences, not only deterring the illegal trade of dogs from Thailand, but punishing those who contribute to this cruelty.

We are continuing to erect large posters at the border crossings between Laos and Vietnam, a popular route for dog smuggling. These posters warn potential dog smugglers of the penalties involved in trafficking dogs.

Construction on the new dog hospital at the shelter is nearing completion and is expected to be operating by early December. This hospital will provide dogs undergoing treatment improved facilities and treatment options, providing them with the best chance possible of recovery.

Sterilisations of owned and stray dogs and cats is well underway in Khao Lak in the Phang Nga province, just north of Phuket. We are now closer to commencing the large scale sterilization program in Bangkok, which is home to an estimated 400,000 stray dogs. Staff have been employed to work on this program and are currently being trained at our Phuket shelter. As always also, we are busy caring for over 400 dogs and 40 cats at the shelter in Phuket, as well as many more animals who are receiving treatment.

As you can imagine, helping so many animals in need is costly, and as we receive no government funding, we rely totally on generous people like you to help the dogs and cats of Thailand. Thank you for caring so much about the street dogs and cats in in Thailand and southeast Asia.