About one thousand stray dogs are living in a one-acre shelter in Nonthaburi’s Wat Suan Kaew. Photo: Nicholas Altstadt
Immediate action is needed to deal with the population of stray dogs in Thailand as the number without a home has reached 700,000.
Out of the 8.5 million dogs in Thailand, about 700,000 are considered to be homeless, according to the latest survey in 2014. Sixtypercent of all ribid dogs were strays, Thailand urgently needs a new approach to control their population as public health is being placed at risk, the Department of Livestock Development has warned.
Out of all the stray dogs, 340,000 are females. Considering a female can produce as many as 10 pups per year, the stray dog population would increase by 3.4 million every year, said Prapas Pinyocheep, director of the Bureau of Disease Control and Veterinary Services.
Current programs for dealing with the strays only control their population through sterilisation, and encouraging people to adopt them.
Sorawit Thaneto, the department’s deputy director-general, said all related agencies should come together and agree on a systematic management of stray dogs, to ensure their population remains at an acceptable level.
Dog owners should also be held responsible for their pets, to prevent animals being abandoned, Bangkok Post reported.
Related:
Inside the Dog Condo: Bangkok’s abandoned animals face nightmare conditions at Wat Suan Kaew
