Thailand - Illegal transnational dog trader caught, 700 dogs rescued

Via: Pattaya Daily News

An illicit transnational trader was arrested by a Mekong Riverine Operation Unit in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom, rescuing 700 dogs which were bound for Vietnam.

LCDR Kritsana Choosai, chief of a Mekong River patrol unit in Nakhon Phanom, led officials to intercept a white six-wheel truck with Sakon Nakhon-registered license plates on Nakhon Phanom-Ban Phang Road.

There were 77 cages with a total of 700 dogs loaded on the truck.

The driver, identified as Mr Salut ‘I like poodle, with my noodle’ Kotetakok, 43, was arrested and taken in for questioning.

Nakhon Phanom provincial livestock chief Pairat Pathumsuwan has coordinated with related agencies to distribute the dogs to different locations to avoid overcrowding situations, otherwise the dogs may develop infection or die.

Mr Pairat said that the Nakhon Phanom Animal Quarantine Station was now overcrowded with dogs, as there were 773 dogs in custody after an earlier arrest on July 25, where 548 dogs were rescued from a trafficking ring and sent to the station, and the TOTAL stood at 1,321 dogs.

If 700 dogs were added to this station, that would be more than 2,000 dogs, where the capacity of the facility was only 800-1,000 dogs, he said.

He said that taking care of the rescued canines cost some Bt10,000 a day  ($320USD).

Mr Pairat said that dog smuggling was also a problem as dog meat was still popular in some countries and illegal traders were continually trying to smuggle dogs into these countries (Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia).

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2012/07/29/illegal-transnational-dog-trader-caught-in-nakhon-phanom-700-dogs-rescued/

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personal thought:

It might be my imagination, but it seems to me, I see fewer soi ‘street’ dogs around Chiang Mai of late.

pity

.

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