Report shows that Thailand’s dog traffickers continue unchecked

Animal activists say as many as 200,000 live dogs are smuggled yearly across the Mekong River from northeast Thailand into Vietnam. The dogs are tightly packed into wire baskets and are dehydrated, stressed and suffocating while on a trip that lasts for days.

Director of Animals Asia Foundation Vietnam, Tuan Bendixsen told CNN recently that these dogs will start biting each other since they are stacked uncomfortably in their cages. After arriving in Vietnam, they are placed under more stress since it is believed that stress and fear releases hormones that make dog meat taste better. The dogs are then killed in gruesome ways such as being bludgeoned to death, having their throats cut, or even being skinned alive.

Though Thailand’s laws prohibit trading in dog meat, dog traders are rarely prosecuted, and receive light sentences even when they are. Police raids will on occasion release thousands of dogs from captivity, but many of these dogs wind up on Thailand’s streets, where they may fall victim to the dog meat industry once again.

Photo: Soidog.org



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on