Thumper
11-02-2014, 09:38 AM
My home away from home is going downhill on a daily basis. Dang-it! At least I still have fond memories of my life living among the local villagers. (I lived in a village in N.E. Thailand for almost 3 years before relocating down south)
Dog Meat Trade in Thailand Is Under Pressure and May Be Banned
BAAN KLANG, Thailand — The dog-eating community here has long understood that its culinary habits do not sit well with people from other parts of Thailand, especially the pet-loving urban middle and upper classes.
But these days, they feel under siege.
Thailand’s military government, which seized power from an elected government in May, is considering a law that would ban the dog meat trade, a move that animal rights activists backing the bill are portraying as a way the junta can enhance its image internationally.
The national police, pressured by some of the same activists, began a crackdown two years ago on the dog trade, arresting those involved in the business on the grounds that they did not have licenses required for the slaughter or transportation of animals.
The police have set up sting operations in the forests where dogs are slaughtered and have arrested what they describe as dog meat kingpins, who export trucks loaded with the animals to Vietnam and China, both countries where dog eating is prevalent.
Dog lovers far outnumber dog eaters among Thailand’s nearly 70 million people. The residents of this picturesque village profess to be both.
“We only eat the fierce dogs — the dogs that bite people or kill chickens,” said Praprut Thanthongdee, 45, a rice farmer who has eaten dog since he was a child. As he spoke with a reporter, he stroked the neck of his pet dog, Money, a white and brown mutt who serves as guard dog, companion in the rice paddies, hunter of dangerous snakes and assistant in herding the water buffalo.
Eating dog, by no means a mainstream tradition in Thai cuisine, is confined to isolated pockets of aficionados, mostly in northeastern Thailand. The practice has existed for decades, chiefly among communities of ethnic Vietnamese, and was put into the national spotlight by the Thai news media in recent years.
Dog Meat Trade in Thailand Is Under Pressure and May Be Banned
BAAN KLANG, Thailand — The dog-eating community here has long understood that its culinary habits do not sit well with people from other parts of Thailand, especially the pet-loving urban middle and upper classes.
But these days, they feel under siege.
Thailand’s military government, which seized power from an elected government in May, is considering a law that would ban the dog meat trade, a move that animal rights activists backing the bill are portraying as a way the junta can enhance its image internationally.
The national police, pressured by some of the same activists, began a crackdown two years ago on the dog trade, arresting those involved in the business on the grounds that they did not have licenses required for the slaughter or transportation of animals.
The police have set up sting operations in the forests where dogs are slaughtered and have arrested what they describe as dog meat kingpins, who export trucks loaded with the animals to Vietnam and China, both countries where dog eating is prevalent.
Dog lovers far outnumber dog eaters among Thailand’s nearly 70 million people. The residents of this picturesque village profess to be both.
“We only eat the fierce dogs — the dogs that bite people or kill chickens,” said Praprut Thanthongdee, 45, a rice farmer who has eaten dog since he was a child. As he spoke with a reporter, he stroked the neck of his pet dog, Money, a white and brown mutt who serves as guard dog, companion in the rice paddies, hunter of dangerous snakes and assistant in herding the water buffalo.
Eating dog, by no means a mainstream tradition in Thai cuisine, is confined to isolated pockets of aficionados, mostly in northeastern Thailand. The practice has existed for decades, chiefly among communities of ethnic Vietnamese, and was put into the national spotlight by the Thai news media in recent years.