Soi dogs - Poisoned!!

[Lung Per]

There used to be a government agency that dealt with the problem of soi dogs.

There would be announcement on the tannoy system for everyone to keep their dogs in and that evening the Ampur would go round the streets with baited meat and kill all the stray dogs and take the carcasses away. It was very effective.

Sometime in 2002/2003 an English woman who visited Thailand for a holiday wrote a letter to someone (coughs!) and soon the dog squad was disbanded. She now lives in the rabies free UK while children here get their faces ripped off every day.

Having just checked it seems she's also tried the same thing in Sri-Lanka but then decided it was best to bring rabies to the UK so she wouldn't have to leave her home to annoy people - bloody social workers - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1904304 ... it-me.html

[LaughTilIDie]

Just another HiSo sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. I guess the government will wait until a tourist is attacked and killed by the dogs before doing anything about it. Usually the way it works, at least here, solve the problem after it's gotten out of control, never a preventative measure. Sad.

[lomuamart]

In the Telegraph article, I'm sure that statistic that the last person to die of rabies in the UK was in 1902 is incorrect.
The reason I reckon so is that I went to India in 1981 and was bitten by a family pet dog whilst there. On return to the UK some 6 weeks after the bite, I mentioned it to my family and unbeknownst to me my mother called the family doctor about it. A day or so later, with all my family out except me, the doctor called to say that he'd spoken to the rabies centre and they said I had 24 hours to confirm whether the dog was still alive or not. If I couldn't confirm, or the dog was dead, I'd need rabies treatment - despite the time lag from getting bitten. I also had no say in the matter. The treatment would be given whether I liked it or not.
The reason for the concern was that earlier in 1981, two UK travelers (not together) had both been bitten by dogs in India. Upon return, they'd started feeling unwell and visited their GPs. One was told they had flu and was prescribed aspirin or similar - she died. The other was treated correctly in time and survived. The story was in the press and I remember it well because of my close scrape with treatment.

[pdm3547]

In the Telegraph article, I'm sure that statistic that the last person to die of rabies in the UK was in 1902 is incorrect.

You're right

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalen ... ed_Kingdom

[STEVE G]

In the Telegraph article, I'm sure that statistic that the last person to die of rabies in the UK was in 1902 is incorrect.

You're right

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalen ... ed_Kingdom

But if you read that article, none of the people who have died of rabies in the UK since then were infected there, they all caught the disease elsewhere. Apparently some Scotch bat fiddler died of something similar in 2002 that he caught from bats so perhaps we should give them independence before they lower the tone of the place!

[kirkyboy]

We saw the dog catcher in soi 94 one day at our hotel. Seems some soi dogs were sleeping under cars in in the car park all day and doing their business all over the carpark, manager made a phone call and a ute with a cage , 3 workers with big fish nets, 1 worker with a long stick with a syringe on the end, cornered one dog, jabbed it, and then caught in the net, another lady taking all the action on her phone, dog asleep, in the cage, off they go to maybe the dog home. All other doi dogs outside the carpark going crazy. Seems to be some sort of dog catcher around if needed. My friend keeps all leftover food from a night out and drops it where soi dogs congregate at night. Ah well.... it's Thailand.

[Homer]

Can I ask if those of you who have 'adopted' or 'support' soi dogs also take them to the vets for their rabies shots every few years?

For any surviving puppies of the local pack, the couple who own my apartment building take them to a vet for spay/neuter and shots.

[brianks]

I have been bitten twice by soi dogs and had the rabies shots for them. Have also been surrounded by a wild attacking pack of soi dogs and felt lucky that someone finally called them off so I could leave. You guys in Hua Hin have the most dangerous soi dog problem I have encountered in Thailand. Where I live now in the south the dogs are very tranquil and rarely if ever bother me. All it takes is one shout and they back off. Not so in Hua Hin as they just get more aggressive. Hua Hin could do with a massive culling of the stray animals for everyone's health and safety. I agree with hhfarang that if you have a dog it is your responsibility to make sure it is safely protected.

[Nereus]

It has already been mentioned about who supports the soi dogs, so it is unlikely to change any time soon.

Authorities have no reason to poision stray dogs, and it has to be the most hideous way of dispatching any animal. Dart guns are available and used in this country, and if they had half a brain it would be a simple matter to round them up humanely. The problem is what to do with them after catching them.

It is only about a year ago that there was wide reporting about the dogs being caught in the north east for export to Vietnam, and the atrocious conditions they ended up in when the government intervened and kept them in several holding areas. The dogs probably ended up worse off than if they had been exported, where they would have least had a quick death.

[hhfarang]

Does Hua Hin City have a dog catcher at all?

They do have a dog pound or shelter; the one that was referred to above that got a recent visit and is sponsored by H.M. The King.

I don't think there is an active dog catcher as such but I've heard from Thais that if you have a pack of soi dogs causing problems in your neighborhood the city will send someone to remove them... not sure who to call though.

[PeteC]

...... not sure who to call though.

Muttbusters?

[pharvey]

...... not sure who to call though.

Muttbusters?

[kendo]

Yes the visit was back in March they done some road maintained near the shelter.

The soi dog issue is a difficult one not forgetting its a Buddist country.
Up in our village you have to walk around with a large stick and you have to disconnect yourself from being an animal lover self preservation first any vicious dog comes near me it's going to get a wallop right over its nose.

We have a dog catcher comes around buying dogs for 250 baht he told my friend that they go across the border into Cambodia and it's very good business but my friend recons they probably end up just a few villages away on a noodle stall.

The Thai tradition is normally the dog catcher will give you plastic bowls in exchange for dogs.

A couple of years ago their was quite an uproar when seven thousand dogs were found in a warehouse destined for export and the meat trade and the government clamped down on this so that could be a reason for the increase in soi and wild dogs.

I agree if you adopt a soi dog keep it within your property not everybody likes dogs and they can be quite menacing to others.

Kendo.

[hhinner]

... not sure who to call though.

Could try Tetsabahn public health and environment department in the case of dangerous dogs - dogs attacking people, motorbikes, etc. Tetsabahn: 0-3251-1047, 0-3251-1347, 0-3253-2433

Or Hua Hin dog shelter may be able to help 032 516551.

[Spitfire]

On the edges of the cities and in the countryside, away from the eyes of tourists, they have dog catching vans that work as an independent business, that drive around collecting unwanted and problem dogs (anyone that has spent a reasonable amount of time in the countryside should have seen this at some point). These dogs are caught and put in a large cage on the back of the truck and the person who gave the catcher the dog or pointed it out as a stray gets a plastic clothes washing bowl or something. These dogs are then sold to Thai/Chinese meatball factories as they are popular amongst many locals at the noodle and meat ball street stalls which cater for tuk-tuk, bus drivers, normal working Thais and others (lovers of street food beware as you never know what kind of "meatball" it really is ).

Imo, nothing wrong with having a real dog as a healthy addition to a family environment that is responsibly taken care of and excersized periodically. However, I rarely see this here....and what I do see all too often is imprisoned mongrel dogs that end up going crazy as they are essentually jailed 24/7 in a house yard of concrete that viciously snarl at anything that passes/start barking at the moon etc because they are being used as cheap security, never let out and it's even maybe slightly an image/face thing too for some to own a dog.

Having 'you know who' being a dog lover plus the religious aspect of it all doesn't help really either and has lead to essentially what is nothing more than a public health problem with all the diseases the stray are capable of carrying, excrement everywhere, lack of responsibility for bites and the threat they perpetually potentially pose to all...to the point where it's not possible in many places to just 'go for a walk' without taking a piece of bambo or a baseball bat with you.

Thailand does have a big dog problem.....but it's not a problem the authorites are willing to tackle or that will change anytime soon.

For me, basically, it's a problem that has gone way beyond that stage that something should be done about it as there are countless stories of children being maimed and traumatized plus motorbike riders injured (which is my main problem with it all along with dog shit everywhere).

However, sensibleness and responsibility seem to be qualities a large section of the local population struggle with.

Anything that is unaccompanied, an obvious stray or overtly snarling and just wandering about should be......well.........eliminated.