Fw: Dog meat in Thailand update

[Guest guest]

THE BANGKOK POST Friday 21 December 2001

 

Dog meat being sold as beef Government urged to protect consumers

 

The government must close all dog slaughterhouses in the country to protect

consumers and Thailand's image, says the Thai Animals Guardian Association.

A man was arrested on Wednesday after police found 240 kilogrammes of dried

dog meat in his truck at the Mor Chit bus terminal. The meat was destined

for Bang Khae market in Thon Buri. The police have released without charge

Manop Ronthee, the man found with dog meat. Manop had done nothing wrong as

the meat had not been traded, said Pol Maj-Gen Jongrak. Roger Lohanan, the

group's secretary-general, said trading in dog meat was a by-product of the

dog-skin export trade and had been going on, often in secret, for 15 years.

Dog skin went into making leather goods such as drums, gloves, bags, watch

straps and clothing. The main source of dog meat was tambon Ban Tha Rae on

Tha Rae-Si Songkhram road of Sakon Nakhon, he said. ``Dog meat is

distributed among local drinkers and also mixed with beef supplied to food

markets nationwide in the form of fresh and dried meat,'' he said. Many

customers did not know what they were buying. Dog meat from the northeastern

province had been sent in disguise to Bangkok since 1985. Mr Roger said the

dogs were killed with a blow to the head. Some also had their throat cut.

Thailand's image was tarnished after documentaries showing the butchery ran

in Europe and the US, he said. The US Congress wanted to outlaw Thai leather

products because of the link with dog meat. Meanwhile, Pol Maj-Gen Jongrak

Juthanon, Bangkok deputy police chief, said vendors would be punished if

they sold dog meat to customers without telling them what it was.

 

Kim Bartlett, Publisher of ANIMAL PEOPLE Newspaper Website Mailing address:

P.O. Box 960, Clinton WA 98236 U.S.A.