Temples in tourist hotspot Phuket are experiencing a crisis of identity: are they places of compassion, contemplation and meditation, the spritual and social centres of the community? Or are they tourist attractions, beholden mainly to visitors?
Once, the two concepts were generally, if slightly uncomfortably, compatible. But now it appears they no longer are.
A temple in Kathu district came under fire in the local press recently for being involved in a "zero-dollar" Chinese tour scam, selling dubious amulets to gullible Chinese tourists.
In Chalong, the island's most famous temple recently called on authorities to ship the dogs living there to the provincial dog pound, regarded by some as a "death camp" for canines.
COMMERCIAL MERIT FROM TEMPLE DOGS
The image of dogs accompanying a row of monks walking to receive offerings in the early morning, or of a group of Thai mixed-breed dogs resting under the shade of temple trees are classic generations-old icons for most Thais. Temples and dogs go together much like kangaroos and Australia.
But at Wat Chalong -- a temple that is on most visitors' to-do lists and receives hundreds of tour buses daily -- the icon is at odds with tourist perceptions.
Thai visitors to the temple complain about the dog faeces and leftover dog food lying around, while Chinese tourists complain of aggressive dogs, with some cases being reported of tourists being nipped by dogs and billing the temple for rabies shots.
The temple management says that when a large number of domestic and international tourists visit, the temples are expected to meet standards set by other tourism destinations.
Anything that might bother the visitors should therefore be eliminated. That includes temple dogs.
TOURISM TEMPLE AND DOGS
Recently, 27 dogs were taken from Wat Chalong by provincial officers to the Government Stray Dog
DOGS' DINNER: A monk feeds abandoned dogs taken in by his temple. PHOTO: Apichit Jinakul
Shelter.
"The group of dogs that were brought to the shelter are dogs that had attacked tourists before. They are fed by monks, people who work in the temple and by visitors as well," explained Chaiwat Chatchawate, representative of the Abbot of Wat Chalong. "Many of these dogs are friendly but not always.
"One of those [taken away] was a dog I used to feed. Tourists get attacked mainly because they approach the dogs wrongly, for example tapping their heads or playing with their tails.
"The dogs are like humans, some days happy, some days moody. There have been no serious cases, just scratches."
But, he said, foreign tourists, if nipped, usually report the fact to their embassy, which later alerts the Phuket governor. That is why they were taken away.
"Chalong Temple, as everyone knows, is the tourism temple of Phuket, visited by hundreds of people every day.
"The [Thai] visitors often complain about dog faeces, the food left on the ground by dog feeders, and dogs disturbing them during their Buddhist observances. They point out their expectations for the temple, so what can we do?"
One of local people who has been feeding dogs at Wat Chalong told the Bangkok Post that she was very worried about the growing willingness to lock dogs up in the government shelter, a place she described as "dirty and unhealthy".
Asking not to be identified by name because she continues to feed dogs daily at Wat Chalong, she recalled: "They came to take the dogs on December 22 and 24. I saw them darting several dogs from the temple [with tranquillisers]. I managed to save about 20 of them, but I was alone so I couldn't help them all.
"There are many groups of dogs in the temple. But the dogs taken to the shelter are not the fierce ones. I keep separating the fierce dogs and taking them to my friend's place.
"In the group of dogs taken by the Livestock Office, some [were so old they had] already lost all their teeth or they were going blind. How could they attack people?
"Some tourists cause the dogs to attack them by kicking them, hitting them, stepping on them or letting their children approach dogs while the dogs are eating.
"I have been feeding these dogs for a long time and I'm worried about them. I went to the pound after they were taken and I saw that the cage where they will be kept is filthy and unhealthy."
The chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office, Surajit Witchuwan, told the Bangkok Post that overcrowding at the Suan Pa Bang Kanun dog pound has forced the authorities to accept only potentially dangerous dogs, not all dogs.
However, he added, dogs living in and around tourist destinations would also be a target, to prevent them from "destroying" Phuket's tourism image.
"The Phuket governor's policy is that the local administration organisations and Phuket Provincial Livestock Office are the main authorities responsible for managing stray dogs in the province.
"The governor visited the pound and saw that it was an unhealthy place. He knows that the government dog shelter is very crowded so his policy is to bring to the shelter only those dogs that cause problems."
The shelter is to be upgraded to improve conditions and so that it can hold more animals, Mr Surajit said.
"[The governor] has already approved a budget of 1.5 million baht to renovate some parts of the shelter. In next year's budget, 8 million baht has been approved to build a dog condo, which will increase capacity by 300-400 dogs.
"Our main target is stray dogs in tourist destinations. Dogs that frighten, bite or disturb tourists must be taken to the shelter. In addition, dogs reported by locals for disturbing or attacking people [will also be collected].
"In the case of Chalong temple, there were many dogs there, and many of them chased and attacked tourists. No one took responsibility for these dogs so we had to take them away. I also received a request from the abbot to do so."
He added that if complaints are received from other temples about dogs, then those dogs, too, will be taken away to the shelter.
Behind bars: Dogs at the government shelter wait — mostly in vain — for adoption. PHOTOS: NATTHA THEPBAMRUNG
Just who is responsible for deciding a dog is dangerous, or disturbs people is not clear. In the case of the 27 dogs removed from Wat Chalong, the judgement was made by temple officials, who then called for government dog catchers to remove them.
"They will all be vaccinated, fed and taken care of at the shelter. When they are sick, we have members of Soi Dog [Foundation, a Phuket-based charity] who will take them to the foundation to be healed.
"This is better than having them stay in the temple, destroying the tourism image of Phuket," said Mr Surajit.
DOGS LEFT AT THE TEMPLE
Many of the dogs living in temples around Thailand -- and Wat Chalong is no exception -- are there because they were dumped there by irresponsible owners. Others are the offspring of animals living nearby that have no owners.
The temples have always been a haven where dogs could be safe from being run over on the street or beaten, maimed or killed by irate locals.
Although Soi Dog Foundation helps the government at the shelter, thereby relieving the strain on the small overheads budget, the charity's co-founder, Briton John Dalley, believes that removing dogs from temples or other tourist sites is a costly mistake.
"Clearly, dogs that are dangerous should be removed from public areas, but such cases are unusual. Most dog bites are caused by uncontrolled owned dogs guarding their territory.
"In the underfunded dog pound, despite the efforts of the governor, the life expectancy [of the dogs] can be measured in months. Only a handful of the dogs there can be classified as dangerous, and these are mainly abandoned pets.
"Moving large numbers of vaccinated and sterilised dogs to the dog pound serves no useful purpose. Indeed, it is likely to exacerbate the stray dog problem, not decrease it.
"Creating voids by removing dogs en masse only invites other feral dogs and cats -- and in some cases, wild monkeys -- to move in to take advantage of the new food source that has become available.
"The dogs moved from Wat Chalong will no doubt be replaced by others in the coming months, because the current dogs are no longer there to keep them out. And so the cycle continues."
DOG POUND OR DEATH CAMP?
The Suan Pa Bang Kanun Stray Dog Shelter was opened in 2004 in an attempt by the government to answer complaints about public health concerns ascribed to stray dogs on the island.
When Governor Norapat Plodthong last month approved 9.5 million baht for renovation and expansion of the shelter, little was allocated to running costs. The shelter has always relied heavily on donations.
Until recently the only staff there were two elderly women, but a recent PR campaign has resulted in enough food being donated to feed all the dogs. That has released overheads budget for other uses, so three more people, including a manager, have now been hired. Whether the shelter can continue to rely on a steady flow of donations has yet to be established.
Meanwhile, Soi Dog may be helping the shelter with veterinary care and volunteers, but Mr Dalley's eventual aim is to see the shelter closed for good.
"The Phuket stray dog population has drastically decreased over the past decade, not because of removing dogs into the dog pound because of large-scale sterilisation and vaccination," he said. "CNVR [catch, vaccinate, neuter and release] is the only proven way to eliminate stray dog populations and rabies."
Thanks largely to the Soi Dog CNVR programme, Phuket is the only Thai province regarded by the government as rabies-free.
Mr Dalley made a plea for controls on dogs being brought in from outside Phuket. "CNVR must be coupled with limiting the supply of new dogs coming into an area or region," he said. "We urge the authorities to stop the dozens of puppies that are brought into the province each week for sale at markets and pet stores. Many of these end up on the street and many of them come from puppy farms in rabies-endemic areas."
INCARCERATED: Temple dogs deemed to pose a threat to the public are taken to the Phuket shelter.