Animals:HiSo Poodles don't scoop the poop!

[ncr]

Do you also have the impression that in the last months there have been more and more elephants on Bangkok's streets again?

I thought they had been banned from the city some time ago.

But now they are far from being an unusual sight again, especially in the Sukhumwit area (sure - many tourists available for begging!)

Or is it just me......? But for example, one day last week I saw 2 of them in the same soi (Phrom Phong), and just 2 days later another one on the Ekkamai-Phetburi bridge.

[ConorBracken]

Yes it seems there has been a rise in elephant numbers. This week I have regular elephants coming down my soi (Narathiwat 24) for the first time, stopping to hassle people in restaurants and so on.

There are not so many tourists in this soi but there are a lot of foreign residents here and the mahouts haven't yet figured why we don't respond the way foreigners are supposed to.

I think the change in numbers is seasonal so when other kinds of work dries up they come to Bangkok.

Regarding the illegality of elephant begging, the story I heard is that when threatened with arrest or fines a mahout can tell a policeman: "OK arrest me" and the policeman of course can't do anything unless he is willing to look after an elephant himself or try to bring the elpehant down the police station :)

Is this true or an urban legend I wonder?

[admin]

Apparently it is true...

This was in The Nation today :"Elephant round-up - Two of the seven elephants rounded up while roaming Bangkok streets under the guidance of begging mahouts are led on to a truck yesterday to take them to a shelter in Lampang province. After a brief suspension, authorities have renewed a campaign to get elephants off the capital's streets. "

[ncr]

It looked like there had been a final crackdown to get the elephant population out of the city. (Would make a good chorus to that song we all know, btw: "it's the final crackdown....." :D )

But in the last five or seven days I have seen 3 of the animals.

Leaving my soi today, the motorbike taxi driver had to dodge a full-sized adult specimen, complete with the mahout on top.

Clear case of "only in Thailand" - they are not allowed in the city; and at up to 3m high and weighing 5 tons, your illegal pet is not exactly easy to hide. So there must be some dark influence / protection involved. Contrary to common belief (and common sense, I mean, anyone can imagine the huge amount of fodder needed, and related cost), can they actually make a profit from the animals? Begging from tourists, redistributing some of the wealth to police and authorities?

Poor beasts, they don't belong here.....

[dick]

It looked like there had been a final crackdown to get the elephant population out of the city. (Would make a good chorus to that song we all know, btw: "it's the final crackdown....." :D )

But in the last five or seven days I have seen 3 of the animals.

Leaving my soi today, the motorbike taxi driver had to dodge a full-sized adult specimen, complete with the mahout on top.

Clear case of "only in Thailand" - they are not allowed in the city; and at up to 3m high and weighing 5 tons, your illegal pet is not exactly easy to hide. So there must be some dark influence / protection involved. Contrary to common belief (and common sense, I mean, anyone can imagine the huge amount of fodder needed, and related cost), can they actually make a profit from the animals? Begging from tourists, redistributing some of the wealth to police and authorities?

Poor beasts, they don't belong here.....

In january, february last I saw several times these poor animals along the street, worse, it was always midnight. Once a taxidriver could hardly see this "object" without lights in the "almost"-dark

[jpatokal]

In january, february last I saw several times these poor animals along the street, worse, it was always midnight. Once a taxidriver could hardly see this "object" without lights in the "almost"-dark
One of my more surreal Bangkok experiences was coming back from the customer site at 4 AM after debugging all night. Flagged down a taxi, slouched in back seat listening to somebody croon luuk thung (badly) on the radio, then the cab stopped at traffic lights...

And there was a red light blinking in front, swaying slowly from left to right like a pendulum. When the traffic lights changed to green the light started slowly lumbering forward -- and I realized it was attached to an elephant's tail! :eek:

[GWR]

http://bkkstreetdogs.blogspot.com/
I have to say I'm not wild about this blog. It seems to fill the same niche as Father Joe Maier's stuff on Khlong Toey streetkids - You have to admire the commitment, but the style is a bit cloying.

Needless to say, I discovered it while searching for 'something else'. And that something else is mentioned here.

One of the most interesting stuff on this blog is the reader's comments:-


Sheila said...

The number 1 reason not to return to Thailand (besides the use of children and young adults as sex toys) is the heart break at seeing all the mangy dogs. The only solution I can think of is to have veterinarians go there and provide free services like we do for people. But it would take a massive effort. Very disturbing.

Not to mention the dodgy Jack Kerouac quote :-

"All living and dying things like these dogs and me coming and going without any duration or self substance, O God, and therefore we can't possibly exist. How strange, how worthy, how good for us! What a horror it would have been if the world was real, because if the world was real, it would be immortal."

-- Jack Kerouac, "The Dharma Bums"

[GWR]

Microchip dogs make history
Published on September 30, 2007

Bangkok's scheme to track the canine population by requiring all dogs to get microchipped kicked off yesterday.

"The project has been well received," said deputy governor Wallop Suwandee.

About 7,000 dogs and their 1,500 masters showed up at City Hall to avail of the free implanting service offered by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) for three months, or until the initial stock of 50,000 ICs is exhausted.

Wallop said it was a historic day because it was the first time microchips had been embedded in dogs.

The service will be expanded to the four corners of the capital, he said.

Now that the campaign is under way, dogs without owners or chips will be removed from the streets at the rate of about 200 per day and trained for official uses.

Stray dogs make a bad impression on foreign tourists coming here, said Wallop.

Popular singer Anchalee Chongkadeekit had a chip inserted in one dog and said she would bring the rest of her 13 pooches at a later time.

"I think microchip implanting is good. It makes owners more responsible. It's like cars, which need a licence so people know who owns it when it goes missing or ends up in a crash. It's good for dogs and owners."

Others like Paradee Poompitak, 35, who keeps three dogs, said it was a neat idea because if her darlings got stolen, they could be easily identified.

The unpleasant side was that dog dung was not properly disposed of, despite the announcement for owners to pick up plastic bags provided by the BMA for the purpose.

The service is available from 8am-4pm.

Mayuree Suyingcharoenwong
The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/30/headlines/headlines_30050745.php