CNN: Business Booming for Dog Smugglers Across Mekong River
THAILAND: -- Business is booming for dog smugglers across the Mekong River, and their crimes have become a focus of CNN News.
The Chinese New Year is a dangerous time for pet dogs in Thailand, as it is traditionally the time of peak demand for dog meat in Vietnam.
CNN interviewed John Dalley of the Phuket-based Soi Dog Foundation.
Dalley said about 98 percent of dogs that have been smuggled are domesticated, and many of them are stolen pets.
These dogs have been trained and respond to commands, and some of them were still wearing collars.
Previously, dog smuggling gangs would lure stray dogs from alleys, but currently smugglers are traveling across most of Thailand in search of dogs.
Some were bought, while others were snatched from dog owners due to soaring demand in the winter months, especially in Vietnam, where dog meat is regarded as a delicacy and one that is believed to bring good luck.
Dalley went on to say the recent floods in Thailand have also been a boon for dog-nappers where lost and displaced dogs were an easy target.
Some operators simply drove around to collect dogs for smuggling across to neighboring countries.
The trade is illegal in Thailand, but the Thai Veterinary Medical Association estimates as many 500,000 dogs are sold across the Mekong every year.
Once the dogs arrive in Vietnam, if they haven't died of suffocation or starvation en route, a painful death awaits them.
Dog meat aficionados claim that stress hormones tenderize the strong-tasting meat, and killing methods range from beatings to being skinned alive.
In Vietnam markets, each dog generally costs between 500 to 1,000 baht.
Purebred dogs will be shipped on to southern China and fetch a higher price.
CNN points out that dog smugglers are normally prosecuted under laws that prohibit the illegal trade and transport of animals, since there is no direct law against the practice.
However, while there are no direct animal cruelty laws in Thailand, prosecutors can charge smugglers with cruelty under Criminal Code laws.
Nevertheless, the reality is that smugglers often receive light sentences of just a few months in prison, and the thousands of impounded dogs that end up in quarantine centers sometimes find their way back onto the streets and in the dog meat circle again.
Dalley remarked that this issue is not about whether it is right or wrong to eat dog meat, but about an illegal trade worth millions of baht per year, organized by criminals, and that the way in which those dogs are transported and killed.
Tan Network 2012-01-26
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