The Global Mail has today released a shocking report revealing  that Thai authorities are losing the war in stopping dogs from being stolen and smuggled to northern Vietnam where dog meat is considered a delicacy. It is estimated one million dogs are eaten there each year.

It is estimated that 200,000 dogs every year are being smuggled. The trade has been going on for at least thirty years.

Smugglers rely on poor vulnerable people, to help them target and capture animals.  Increasing demand means smugglers have now started to steal family pet dogs in addition dogs living in Thai temples. Soi dogs are becoming more difficult to catch making the family pet more attractive as many live outside during the night.

Thailand Criminal Lawyer

Chaninat and Leeds specializes in international criminal cases in Thailand

Dogs are gathered across northeastern Thailand, before being taken to holding pens in the Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan provinces.

The inhumane conditions for the dogs during transport are impossible to contemplate. Open-sided trucks are filled with hundreds of dogs, starving and dehydrated, and piled on top of each other, injured with bite wounds and broken bones. Many die from suffocation and the injuries they sustain during transit.

Dog meat is considered a delicacy in Vietnam and it is believed that some feel it has aphrodisiac and other properties.

The maximum penalty in Thailand for the illegal export of animals is two years imprisonment and a 90,000 baht fine (about $3000 at May 2013 exchange rate), but activists report that no one has yet been jailed.

Trying to control the number of dogs killed and transported to other countries has proved to be a difficult task but a number of people in Thailand are continuing the fight to stop the trade, but while dog meat remains a delicacy in Vietnam, the smugglers will continue.

Related articles: 

Wildlife Smuggling in Thailand: A Matter of Convenience 

Thailand's Dog Meat and Skin Trade