Dog Trafficking in Northeast India

According to this article smuggling of stray dogs between the northeast Indian state of Tripura and the adjacent Nagaland and Mizoram states where they are a favored meat is a "new phenomenon". So far this year six people have been arrested in two separate incidences after they were caught smuggling stray dogs tied up in sacks.

Puerto Rico Stray Dog Insights

I have seen several reports talking about the problem of stray dogs or “satos” in Puerto Rico which has become so severe that there is a beach now commonly known as “Dead Dog Beach”. Here is one particularly good article by Cesar Millan (of “The Dog Whisperer” fame) reviewing a documentary on the problem with a couple of particularly interesting insights.

Firstly, as in many other places, the finger of blame is pointed at backyard breeders out to make a quick profit from the mass production of puppies. Often these farmed animals lack the upbringing that would turn them into good pets and they end up getting abandoned by their new owners. However, even more significantly the “surplus” puppies, those that do not sell immediately, get dumped by the breeders directly, sometimes even before they are weaned giving them virtually no chance of survival. In terms of numbers of abandoned dogs this seems to be by far the biggest problem in Puerto Rico. It may well also be happening in other countries but does not get the same attention as abandonment by pet owners.

Secondly, he highlights how the macho attitude of many Latino men results in a strong reluctance to neuter their pet dogs for the perceived loss of masculinity. Thus, the population of potential breeders is kept higher than necessary and the chances of unwanted puppies becomes greater.

Understanding such subtleties in the mechanisms that lead to stray dog problems can only be a good thing and help us see beyond the standard arguments of how to deal with the stray dogs themselves. We should stop focusing on the strays as the problem. The problem is our behaviour.

Thai Stray Dog Trafficking to Vietnam Figures

This short video report about the dog meat trade in north-east Thailand is interesting for the figures it gives on the illegal smuggling of dogs into Vietnam. Along with their talk of political and police corruption plus mafia-style gangs, the report also claims that around 1,000 stray dogs collected from farms and villages are smuggled from Thailand to Vietnam via Laos every night. With the value of each dog jumping from $2 at source in Thailand up to $20 in Vietnam making the annual trade worth about $3,600,000 in an otherwise poor region it is easy to see why dog trafficking is so attractive and why it will be difficult to stop.

Some of the cruelty involved in this trade comes from traditional beliefs as to how to improve the meat but it is also caused by the fact that the trade is illegal and therefore has to remain secretive and hidden from the view of the wider public. 

Out Of The Frying Pan…

The Bangkok Post reports here about the problems of what to do with the thousands of dogs recently confiscated from gangs in north-eastern Thailand. Destined for the cooking pots of Vietnam and beyond several truckloads of dogs have been saved by authorities in recent months. However, of the thousands of dogs taken from the smuggling gangs an estimated 700 have died since being saved. This is partly a consequence of the very poor condition they were already in when rescued but also due to the insufficient facilities and resources available to house, feed and treat them properly. The official shelters in the region are all full so the dogs now have to be transported further and the annual hot season with temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius isn’t helping.

Public donations are being sought but whether the dog meat trade smugglers are caught or not the prospects for the dogs are bleak.

Kashmir Stray Dogs Again

Another article here about the stray dog problem in the Kashmir valley which notes that we have to accept responsibility for creating the problem in the first place by providing the “food and harborage” that enables such a high density of dogs to survive.

The author then goes on to discuss the two possible solutions: the short-term culling approach or the generally more acceptable longer-term sterilization approach (“surgical neutralising of dogs”) that he favours.

However, as with several other articles I have come across, he fails to include the suggestion of any improved waste management in his long-term strategy. Failing to tackle the root cause will mean continual management is necessary, and this omission might make a cynical reader wonder if there is any vested interest involved in the writing.

Stray Dog’s Eye View

This short video by the Animal Humane Society is part of a campaign to encourage stray dog adoption and prevent pet abandonment. It’s an interesting dog’s-view angle but a lot of it looks to have been filmed “off-dog” and is a carefully scripted story rather than reality. I would love to see something like this that does actually follow the life of a stray dog. Comparing strays in different situations would be especially interesting for me whether abandoned pet or street dog or village dog.