Dogs-for-food smugglers jailed

Published: 26/09/2011 at 06:31 PM
Online news:

Five members of a gang believed to supply dogs to restaurants across Asia were on Monday sentenced to eight months in jail for attempting to smuggle more than 1200 dogs across the Mekong river to Laos in August.

The jail term was reduced to four months because they pleaded guilty.

Four Thai men and one Vietnamese man were arrested with 1,260 dogs in four six-wheel trucks on Aug 11 by officials led by Nakhon Phanom governor Roengsak Mahavinijchaimontree as they were about to put the animals on board a boat in Ban Phaeng district.

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thetruth
Post : 14
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Discussion 8 : 29/09/2011 at 10:30 AM8
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In civilized countries the government takes care of stray animals.
The government should at least catch, disinfect and sterilize as many stray dogs as possible. That would eventually reduce their numbers since many die of diseases and due to accidents at an early age. Dogs can have 20 or more off-springs per year. Create laws with heavy fines for animal abandonment and animal cruelty. But again this country does not even have a functioning child support system in place, animal protection laws are just another pipe dream.

Animal smuggling gangs not only take stray dogs, but also steal dogs from owners. Anyone who is involved in this dirty business should be locked in cages with dogs and fetch for themselves. Survival of the fittest.

4 dog owner.
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carefordog
Post : 1
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Discussion 7 : 27/09/2011 at 01:14 PM7
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I find most of the comments very heartless and cold. First of all it is not the fault of the dogs that they get dumped on the streets, abandoned, and often not vaccinated and sterilized. You can question if it is ethically correct to condemn the eating of dog meat when other animals at the same time get killed for food (that’s why I chose to be a vegetarian). However, many people are probably not aware about the cruel fate that these poor dogs are awaiting that have been caught (or stolen): They get crammed in tiny cages during their long transports to neighbouring countries without food and water. The lucky ones suffocate during the transport. The ones that finally arrive at their destination in Vietnam await shocking and cruel slaughtering methods: the dogs get often tortured for hours before being skinned alive as people think that the pain leads to the tenderizing of the meat.

Therefore I wish these dog traders would even have got harsher sentences and I hope that the Parliament will pass the urgently needed Animal Welfare Bill. The confiscation of these 1.200 dogs was just the tip of the iceberg, an estimated min. 360.000 dogs per year end up in the dog meat trade within Thailand or with neighbouring countries.

If you want to read more how you can help these voiceless dogs please visit www.carefordogs.org
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bkk-farang
Post : 969
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Discussion 6 : 27/09/2011 at 11:26 AM6
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I think some of the commenters are a little harsh to the dogs. It’s not the dogs fault that many Thais seem to love puppies and later when the dogs grow the owners get rid of them (maybe to get some new puppy). You also can’t blame the dogs that they want to reproduce – that’s nature.
I agree that the hunters and smugglers should be punished.
The main issue in this article seems to me the speed of the conviction like Khun Amerman #2 writes already. This conviction came not even 2 month after the smugglers were arrested. It also seems like the convicted are in jail and not out on bail like many terrorist suspects in this country. Sadly I think all this makes sense (in the Thai way) because these smugglers were probably some poor guys without any political connections. And I don’t expect that our prai demonstrators will go to the streets to fight against double standards.
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sinnerboy
Post : 16
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Discussion 5 : 27/09/2011 at 01:21 AM5
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I agree with posts 1 and 4.The packs of wild dogs everywhere in Thailand are a potentially lethal menace, they make many areas no go at night.
If some folk are prepared to round up strays and ship them to Vietnam to make a few baht, they should be congratulated, not jailed.
"if you don't know how to do it, I'll show you how to wok the dog " ( Rolling Stones)
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robert1972
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Discussion 4 : 26/09/2011 at 09:40 PM4
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Stray dogs with disease and fleas are everywhere in Thailand especially at the Temples. At least someone is doing something to get rid of them. In the United States, they put them to sleep then incinerate them. If someone gets a dog, they should be required to nueter and spay the dogs so that they don't breed.
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josh
Post : 95
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Discussion 3 : 26/09/2011 at 09:35 PM3
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Thailand should allow people to have a dog farm, raise dog for meat, then export to veitnam. They like dog let supply them with dogs, another job creation, and money.
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amerman
Post : 157
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Discussion 2 : 26/09/2011 at 06:15 PM2
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What I dont understand is why it only takes weeks for the dog smugglers to go to court and be sentenced to jail but its been a year and we see no sentences for the people that burned the city. We see only arrest and bail but no court dates or jail time.
Why??
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bluebkk
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Discussion 1 : 26/09/2011 at 04:37 PM1
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As long as local governments and the people are doing nothing about the thousands of disease carrying dogs overflow in this country , I sympathize with the dogs-for-food smugglers!! I wish the Vietnamese eat ten thousand dogs per day!!!
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Dogs-for-food smugglers jailed | Bangkok Post: breakingnews