Street dogs , commonly soi dogs (in Thai soi means 'side-street', 'lane', or 'alley') in Thailand, are ownerless, free-ranging dogs. These dogs are sometimes rounded up and sold as meat in Vietnam and China. [1] It is estimated that there are about 8.5 million dogs in Thailand, of which about 730,000 are abandoned by their owners. [2] Bangkok alone is estimated to have from 100,000 [3] to 300,000 street dogs. [4] Few have been vaccinated against canine diseases.
In the 1990s, more than 200 dogs were euthanized each day.[ citation needed ] In 2000, however, the Animal Guardians Association campaigned against the practice, which they argued violated Buddhist principles. They launched a sterilization program in Bangkok. The campaign generated substantial public outcry against the euthanasia, and the city adopted a pro-life dog policy.
A regulation has forbidden the feeding of stray dogs in public places. [5]
In September 2005, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration began a program of mandatory registration for dogs. [6] The program was aimed to deter the abandonment of dogs, which could be traced to their owners. [7] Requirements for registration include the implantation of a microchip identifying the owner, rabies vaccination status for dogs less than one year old, and sterilization. [6]
Starting on 4 July 2008, dogs found unregistered may be sent to a dog kennel in the northern province of Uthai Thani and their owners can be fined up to 5,000 baht. [6] Critics of mandatory registration have asserted that it has actually increased the number of strays, as dog owners who do not wish to pay for implementation are abandoning their pets rather than risking fines. [5]
Before prominent events, stray dogs have been rounded up and sent to shelters. This occurred before the 2003 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit meeting, when thousands of dogs were removed from Bangkok and sent to the Livestock Development Department's animal quarantine stations in Phetchaburi and Sa Kaeo Provinces. [8] Stray dogs were again transported from the city in preparation for the king's 2006 anniversary celebration, with efforts focusing on areas near expensive hotels where royal guests stayed. [9] These strays were sent to the kennel in Uthai Thani, where it was planned they would stay until their death. [9]
The Thai cabinet, in October 2018, approved an amendment to the Cruelty Prevention and Welfare of Animal Act, B.E. 2557 (2014). The amendment, initiated by the Department of Livestock Development of the Agriculture Ministry, would require the registration of pets nationwide. The majority of pet owners have accepted the need for registration in principle, but object to the proposed registration fee of 450 baht per animal. Thailand had about 350,000 stray dogs and cats in 2007. By 2017 the number had risen to 860,000. According to the Department of Livestock Development, "If we do nothing, Thailand will have as many as 2 million stray dogs and cats in 2027 and 5 million in 2037." [10]
The 2006 Thai film Kao Niew Moo Ping by Siwaporn Pongsuwan focused on the relationship between a runaway girl and the stray dog she befriends. [11]
In 2007 the film Ma-Mha 4 Ka Krub, also Mid-Road Gang, debuted. It is about a pack of stray dogs in suburban Bangkok who want to cross a busy highway in hopes of finding a better life on the other side of the road. It is the first Thai live-action feature film to portray animal characters in leading roles.
A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/cute appearances, intelligence, and relatable personalities, but some pets may be taken in on an altruistic basis and accepted by the owner regardless of these characteristics.
An animal shelter or pound is a place where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals – mostly dogs and cats – are housed. The word "pound" has its origins in the animal pounds of agricultural communities, where stray livestock would be penned or impounded until they were claimed by their owners.
A microchip implant is an identifying integrated circuit placed under the skin of an animal. The chip, about the size of a large grain of rice, uses passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, and is also known as a PIT tag. Standard pet microchips are typically 11–13 mm long and 2 mm in diameter.
A kennel is a structure or shelter for dogs. Used in the plural, the kennels, the term means any building, collection of buildings or a property in which dogs are housed, maintained, and bred. A kennel can be made out of various materials, the most popular being wood and canvas.
An animal rescue group or animal rescue organization is a group dedicated to pet adoption. These groups take unwanted, abandoned, abused, or stray pets and attempt to find suitable homes for them. Many rescue groups are created by and run by volunteers, who take animals into their homes and care for them—including training, playing, handling medical issues, and solving behaviour problems—until a suitable permanent home can be found.
In some countries there is an overpopulation of pets such as cats, dogs, and exotic animals. In the United States, six to eight million animals are brought to shelters each year, of which an estimated three to four million are subsequently euthanized, including 2.7 million considered healthy and adoptable. Euthanasia numbers have declined since the 1970s, when U.S. shelters euthanized an estimated 12 to 20 million animals. Most humane societies, animal shelters and rescue groups urge animal caregivers to have their animals spayed or neutered to prevent the births of unwanted and accidental litters that could contribute to this dynamic.
A dog licence is required in some jurisdictions to be the keeper of a dog. Usually a dog-licence identifying number is issued to the owner, along with a dog tag bearing the identifier and a contact number for the registering organization. If a stray pet is found with the tag, a rescuer can call the registering organization to get current contact information for the animal.
A dog tag, cat tag, pet ID tag, or pet tag is a small flat tag worn on pets' collars or harnesses.
Dogs Trust, known until 2003 as the National Canine Defence League, is a British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for over 15,000 animals each year. Dogs Trust's primary objective is to protect all dogs in the UK and elsewhere from maltreatment, cruelty and suffering. It focuses on the rehabilitation and rehoming of dogs which have been either abandoned or given up by their owners through rehoming services.
A no-kill shelter is an animal shelter that does not kill healthy or treatable animals based on time limits or capacity, reserving euthanasia for terminally ill animals, animals suffering poor quality of life, or those considered dangerous to public safety. A no-kill shelter uses many strategies to promote shelter animals; to expanding its resources using volunteers, housing and medical protocols; and to work actively to lower the number of homeless animals entering the shelter system. Up to ten percent of animals could be killed in a no-kill shelter and still be considered a no-kill shelter.
Dognapping is the crime of taking a dog from its owner. The word is derived from the term kidnapping.
Street dogs, known in scientific literature as free-ranging urban dogs, are unconfined dogs that live in cities. They live virtually everywhere cities exist and the local human population allows, especially in the developing world. Street dogs may be stray dogs, pets which have strayed from or are abandoned by their owners, or may be feral animals that have never been owned. Street dogs may be stray purebreds, true mixed-breed dogs, or unbred landraces such as the Indian pariah dog. Street dog overpopulation can cause problems for the societies in which they live, so campaigns to spay and neuter them are sometimes implemented. They tend to differ from rural free-ranging dogs in their skill sets, socialization, and ecological effects.
A pet recovery service is a service that has been created for the specific purpose of reuniting lost or stolen pets with their owners.
Abandoned pets are companion animals that are either inadvertently or deliberately abandoned by their owners, by either dumping the animals on the streets, leaving them alone in a vacant property, or relinquishing them at an animal shelter.
The Lange Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1993 in West Los Angeles, California, by Gillian Lange. The organization is a no-kill shelter committed to rescuing stray and abandoned animals and facilitating adoptions. Animals that are not adopted may remain at the kennel indefinitely without consequence.
A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of which around 20% are regarded as owned pets and therefore restrained.
The Soi Dog Foundation is a nonprofit organisation for the welfare of stray dogs and cats. Its headquarters is in Phuket, Thailand, and it is a legally registered nonprofit organisation in Thailand, the US, Canada, Australia, France, UK, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Its primary goal is to care for homeless and abused dogs in Thailand. It was established by British couple John and Gill Dalley with the help of Margot Homburg Park in Phuket in 2003.
Prevention of Cruelty and Animal Welfare Provision Act 2014 is a parliamentary act of the National Legislative Assembly of Thailand.
Animal welfare in Thailand relates to the treatment of animals in fields such as agriculture, hunting, medical testing, tourism, and the domestic ownership of animals. It is distinct from animal conservation.
Animal welfare and rights in Indonesia regards the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Indonesia. Indonesia has limited animal welfare regulations by international standards.