Photos by Watchdog Thailand Foundation
An animal welfare organisation and the Livestock Department in Chiang Rai province are seeking police action against an Akha man who allegedly posed as someone wanting to adopt dogs, with those he adopted ending up in an illegal slaughterhouse.
According to the Watchdog Thailand (WDT) foundation, police in Mae Chan district visited the man’s house and issued a summons for him to report to the police station for questioning.
The man initially denied all the accusations, but eventually admitted that he was part of a ring responsible for supplying dogs to an illegal slaughterhouse in the province.
The issue came to light after owners who had given their dogs to the Akha man could not reach him to check on the former pet’s well-being, despite his promises to update them. Others who did manage to contact him were told that the dogs had either run away or been given to other families.
The WDT foundation has asked Mae Chan police to investigate and, if appropriate, to prosecute the man’s accomplices and has asked anyone who gave animals to the man to contact the police to help determine the exact number involved.
