Thread: Animal Rights Groups Angered Over the Culling of 100 Dogs, Cats in Chiang Rai

CHIANG RAI – Residents of Ban Jalor in Tambon Mae Fah Luang in Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang district are angry that officials from the Mae Fah Luang livestock office used the law to force them to hand over their beloved pets to exterminate them to control the spread of rabies.


Following reports of the pet culling, the seven groups wrote to the department chief to demand an explanation for what they regarded as an inhumane act by the local livestock officials.


A reporter from The Nation visiting the village on Thursday found no pet dogs and cats were left in the entire village, apart from four caged dogs at the homes of Pongsak Wisetpimolkul, 27, and Thidarat Mayer, 26.




Each of the two villagers has locked their two pet dogs in a cage in their homes as ordered by the district livestock office.


Pongsak said the culling followed a finding on January 21 that a teacher’s dog had caught rabies and spread it to seven other dogs.


He said the district livestock office held a January 26 meeting of representatives from each family to let them vote whether they would hand over all of their pets to be exterminated to control rabies.


Pongsak said the villagers initially disagreed but the officials threatened that they would be held responsible and would be required to pay fines if their animals were to bite other people and spread rabies.


Pongsak said the villagers requested the officials detain their animals for 14 days instead of killing them all but the officials insisted that regulations required that they be exterminated.


The officials said if the villagers did not want to hand over the pets they must keep them in cages at all times.


Pongsak told the Nation that the villagers did not have money to build cages and are afraid of legal actions, so they handed over their pets with tears to the officials on January 27.


Alongkorn Wibuldejkhajorn said his heart was broken when he was forced to hand over a cat he had raised since it was a kitten to be killed by officials.


An official at the district livestock office, who asked not to be named, told the Bangkok Post the pets had all been exterminated in line with the control measures and their bodies were sent for lab tests.


The official claimed that the livestock officials were also sad but they had no other choice.

Animal Rights Groups Angered Over the Culling of 100 Dogs, Cats in Chiang Rai?s Mae Fah Luang District | Chiang Rai Times English Language Newspaper

Idiots, should have done more like 1000 while they had the chance

Third Village in Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang District Detain Their Pets in Fear of Cull Over Rabies

CHIANG RAI – Residents of a third village in Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Lung district where rabies has been detected, voted to keep and detain their pet dogs and cats instead of handing them over to livestock officials to be culled.


Villagers of Ban Lise village in Tambon Mae Fah Luang of Mae Fah Luang district voted on Friday against handling over their pets to Mae Fah Lung livestock officials to be “handled” in accordance with rabies control procedure.


Ban Lise became the third village in Tambon Mae Fah Luang where rabies has been detected. A dog, which died, tested positive for rabies.


Last month, Mae Fah Luang livestocks officials took away more than 200 dogs and cats from Ban Mae Salaeb and Ban Jalor villages to be culled, prompting animal rights groups to threaten to invoke the anti-animal-cruelty law to sue the officials.


Ban Jalor residents claimed that officials had forced them to part with their pets while the Livestock Department chief claimed that the cull were mercy killings as animals with rabies could not be cured.



–
Anusorn Rat-ananpinij, the chief livestock officer for Mae Fah Luang district, said the stray dog that died of rabies had not shown any symptoms of the disease and it was not known how it had contracted the disease.


Anusorn said since the villagers had voted to detain and monitor their own pets, his office issued a rabies control announcement in the village, banning transport of pets from the village for six months.


During the six-month period, pet dogs and cats must be kept in cages. Anusorn said villagers were allowed to use makeshift cases while building or buying permanent ones.


Rabies virus can spread not only in hot season, but also in rainy season.


Rabies, a virus transmitted through saliva, causes acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and is almost always fatal if not treated early.

The disease kills about 55,000 people a year worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, which said children under 15 are the most common victims.

Third Village in Chiang Rai?s Mae Fah Luang District Detain Their Pets in Fear of Cull Over Rabies | Chiang Rai Times English Language Newspaper

Stray dogs in Thailand are a problem..they need to be culled

Originally Posted by misskit

Animal Rights Groups Angered Over the Culling of 100 Dogs, Cats in Chiang Rai

I am a dog lover, myself having 3 dogs and one cat, running with them twice a day (the cat included).
However, when a herd of 20 stray dogs (no kidding) from the neighbourhood clashes frequently with another group of stray dogs from another soi, the Animal Right Group should enjoy being around.

Originally Posted by Mozzbie47

Stray dogs in Thailand are a problem..they need to be culled

Likewise motorcyclists.