Illegal dog meat trade thriving in Thailand

When I was a young girl, my girlfriend’s father traveled to Thailand. I was so impressed knowing someone who traveled to an exotic country.

Thailand is known for martial arts, beaches, resorts and many temples. They are known for their Thai food which is mainly comprised of noodles, seasonings and your choice of meat.

In late 2004, Thailand was struck by a tsunami that was caused by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean – one of the greatest natural disasters in modern times. Perhaps, there’s a reason why this country was hit by such a horrific disaster.

This is also where I say you would never find me as a tourist in this country. Those days are gone with me being impressed with their resorts and beaches after knowing about the illegal dog meat trade that exists in Thailand.

Truckloads of dogs, many of them pets, are stuffed into wire cages, and smuggled mainly to Vietnam but also other countries. As they travel for days in the same crowded cage of 20 dogs with no food or water, many who are trapped in the center of the cage perish. Suffocated to death by the crush of the other dogs. Man’s best friend  is brutalized and killed so horrifically solely for their meat.

The illegal dog meat trade is finally receiving global media attention it so deserves. According to Marcelo Cacciola, Director of Soi Dog Foundation USA, CNN did a story on this unthinkable and horrific practice last week. Marcelo stated that 90% of the world does not know about the smuggling of dogs for their meat. (story can be found at the end of this article.)

The Soi Dog Foundation has done much to help these dogs since it started in 2003.  People from around the world, volunteering their time for this organization, have saved tens of thousands of dogs. Sadly, each year between 250,000 and 350,000 dogs are taken and killed violently for their meat.

Currently, the foundation has a shelter in Thailand that holds 5,000 dogs. The dogs are divided into different areas because many aren’t vaccinated and are quite ill. Many have distemper while others have severe head and leg injuries because of being in the cages. Some are killed when the wire cages are thrown to the ground.

As I spoke with Marcelo, I listened attentively to his passion for this cause which was immediately evident as he told me of the horrors of the illegal dog meat trade. I asked how he became involved with the foundation. He said he saw a similar photo as seen in this article and immediately turned the page. It was too painful to see. That pain led him back to that image and he knew instinctively he wanted to help these dogs. He told me giving money was too easy for him because there was no involvement on his part.

He said he wanted “to be the change you want to see in the world.”

He traveled to Thailand to see firsthand what he saw in the photo three short years ago. I felt his genuine calling to help the smuggled dogs and to make a difference in their lives.

When I had seen a story on the illegal dog meat trade ten years ago, I called a local shelter to find out what I could do to help these dogs too. The answer to my question was nothing. There is nothing you can do. As I shared this with Marcelo, it only reinforced that most of the world knows nothing of what is happening in Thailand to hundreds of thousands of dogs, let alone knowing you can do something.

The Soi Dog Foundation USA, along with the Thai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are currently working through the Department of Livestock Development to get an Animal Welfare Draft Law through the Thai Parliament. Of course, as in the US, it will take approximately three to five years to get a law passed.

John Dalley, co-founder of the Phuket-based Soi Dog Foundation says some of the domesticated dogs are even still wearing collars and have been trained and respond to commands.

“It’s so inhumane … it’s quite literally hell on earth”…..John Dalley

There are no laws against animal cruelty in Thailand. If you abuse a dog in front of the Parliament building, nothing will happen to you. If you smuggle drugs, you may get the death penalty.

For a country that boasts how friendly their people are, they sure as hell don’t give a damn about life. The smugglers may receive light sentences. Light sentences for brutalizing and causing excruciating suffering in dogs. Dogs who have done nothing to hurt anyone.

Just how are these defenseless dogs tortured? Sometimes, they’re hit or bludgeoned with a bat or hammer. After the deprivation of food and water and “squashed like potatoes” for days in wire cages, as Marcelo tells me, they are taken to a holding area where they are constantly prodded to provoke fear. Fear generates adrenaline according to those who use the dogs for meat. It makes their meat more tender which isn’t true.

Dogs’ throats are slit while others are thrown into pots of boiling water, alive! Some are also skinned while still alive. It was at this point that Marcelo and I both stopped for a few moments. I sat numb while trying to digest what I just heard.

These dogs are abused, horrified and brutalized from the moment they are picked up in Thailand until their meet their ultimate destination in another country. Marcelo says no other animal in the world suffers more for their meat than the dogs in Thailand.

The Soi Dog Foundation says one of the ways to change this practice is to shame the countries who are a part of the dog meat trade. They are working on highlighting the dangers of dog meat. Many of the dogs are sick and that can cause people to become ill and/or die. If these countries understand the dangers of dog meat, the Foundation is hoping they will stop selling dog meat.

The organization also runs a sterilization clinic to reduce the number of dogs in Thailand.

How can you help? They always need donations. Marcelo says 96% of the donations goes directly to help with the Thailand shelter while 4% goes to administrative costs. When is the last time you heard that coming from a worldwide animal organization? Their priorities are the animals. They also answer each and every email they receive.

You can sponsor a dog or adopt one. Last year, over 200 dogs found forever homes.Their website explains how you can do this.

While the illegal dog meat trade is repulsive and revolting and difficult to read about, there is a larger picture to consider according to Dalley.

“It is about an illegal trade worth millions of dollars per year organized by criminals. The way in which these dogs are transported and, if they survive, killed, is horrific.”Some of the footage we receive is so horrific it’s too strong even for the media to run.

Even as Marcelo asked me if I was sure I wanted to hear and prepared to hear what happens to the dogs, he couldn’t help but get choked up as he relayed the torture the dogs endure. He says it doesn’t matter how many times he has spoken these same words, it affects him every time.

Because of him and others who volunteer their time, there is hope for these  dogs.

Does the illegal dog meat trade make you think twice about vacationing in Thailand?

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/02/world/asia/thailand-dogs/index.html?hpt=hp_t3