Dear Editor,
I don’t know how Eric Bahrt thinks that his five word solution to the stray dog problem, “Stop breeding and start neutering” will have any effect on the problem. With estimates of 100,000 to 300,000 stray dogs in the city of Bangkok, the problem is presently a self-perpetuating one.
I admire the work of people and various organizations that take stray dogs off the street and treat them, immunize them, neuter them, and put them up for adoption. However, for every dog they save, there are probably a couple dozen pairs of stray dogs out there copulating, and after 60 days or so there will be blessed events with another 100 dogs out on the street.
The only solution to the problem is to round them up, keep them in holding kennels for a short time to allow people to claim or adopt them, and then humanely euthanize them. This is what would be done in any European or North American country – no doubt China as well. Sounds cruel, but nothing else will solve the problem.
Any contribution to the problem by dog breeders is probably minimal, and people that buy dogs from breeders contribute little to the problem as well. If someone wishes to have a pure bred dog, who is Mr. Bahrt or anyone to tell him/her to adopt a stray dog instead? It’s no different than wanting a nice car or house. Some people might want to have certain breeds of dogs because they are good with children; e.g., spaniels, retrievers, or collies. Or, German shepherds or Alsatians to provide a bit of protection in a country with a rising crime rate. Pure bred dogs command a high price, up to 50,000 baht, and anyone paying that much for a dog is not about to abandon it at any time.
R. L. Holt
Chiang Mai
