Soi Dog Foundation
Formation2003
Founder
  • Margot Homburg Park
  • John Dalley
  • Gill Dalley
TypeNonprofit
Registration no.Phor.Gor. 39/2548 (Thailand)
PurposeControl of stray dogs
HeadquartersPhuket, Thailand
Region
Global
FieldsAnimal welfare
Director/Manager
John Dalley
Websitesoidog.org

The Soi Dog Foundation is a nonprofit organisation for the welfare of stray dogs and cats. Its headquarters is in Phuket, Thailand, and it is a legally registered nonprofit organisation in Thailand, the US, Canada, Australia, France, UK, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.[1] Its primary goal is to care for homeless and abused dogs in Thailand. It was established by British couple John and Gill Dalley with the help of Margot Homburg Park in Phuket in 2003.[2]

The foundation has saved thousands of dogs from illegal trades, particularly for meat, and works to reduce free-ranging dog and cat populations through sterilisation. Soi is a Thai word for "street", a reference to the fact that smaller streets in Thailand often teem with stray dogs. It has received endorsement from international celebrities, including Judi Dench, Laura Carmichael, and Ricky Gervais.[3] The foundation's 2014 campaign led to the enactment of the Prevention of Animal Cruelty and Provision of Animal Welfare Act, the first animal welfare act in Thailand.[4]

Background and origin

Thailand, and other countries in Southeast Asia, are known for their stray dogs and, until 2014, the dog meat trade. Whilst the trade became illegal in Thailand, in other countries in the region such as Vietnam and Cambodia, there are dog butchers, dog tanneries, and holding centres for captive canines. Many dogs were exported to Vietnam and China for dog meat.[5] The dog trade involves smuggling by organised gangs.[3] Thailand's largest island, Phuket, is the location of the Soi Dog Foundation Gill Dalley Sanctuary, where many former meat trade rescues were sheltered, rehabilitated, and eventually rehomed through Soi Dog's international adoption programme.[6] The Thai Veterinary Medical Association reported that in 2011, half a million dogs were traded to Vietnam and China.[5]

These dogs are trapped and collected to be sold in the market or passed on to traders for export. The animals often suffer during transport due to congested packing in crates, and many of them suffocate and die in the process. Seeing this appalling situation, American-born Margot Homburg Park decided to join hands with a British couple, John and Gill Dalley, to try to end the suffering of dogs in Thailand. John Dalley is a retired chemical engineer from Leeds, England, and Gill a former bank employee. Gill Dalley died after a short illness on 13 February 2017.[7] The couple had moved to Phuket for a retired life. John Dalley remarked, "We had a dog back home [in Leeds], but I wasn't particularly involved with animal rights. But you see these dogs [in Thailand] suffer, and you want to do something to help them."[5]

In 2003, they established the foundation by opening a clinic and recruiting veterinarians on a volunteer basis to take care of homeless dogs. For their name, they chose the Thai word soi, which means "street", hence, the organisation literally means "street dog foundation". They began by neutering and vaccinating stray dogs. In 2004, following the catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami which devastated both human and animal populations in the region, Soi Dog's presence became even more valuable. In 2005, the foundation was officially registered, becoming the first animal welfare organisation in Thailand. In 2011, a permanent clinic was opened in Bangkok, the nation's capital. The foundation's mission is "To improve the welfare of dogs and cats in Asia, resulting in better lives for both the animal and human communities, to create a society without homeless animals, and to ultimately end animal cruelty".[8] As a result of the vaccination effort, Phuket has seen only one confirmed case of rabies since 1995, in 2019.[9]

Activity

Following the outlawing of the dog meat trade in Thailand in 2014, Soi Dog has focused its efforts on spaying and neutering as many dogs as possible. Spay/neuter is widely recognised as the most humane, effective, and sustainable method of controlling the stray population. Soi Dog neuters over 180,000 stray dogs and cats every year to reduce the population living on the streets. As of April 2023, it was home to around 1,800 former stray and at-risk dogs and cats.[6] Since 2020, about 90% of the stray animal population in Phuket has been reduced since 2003.[10] The foundation has twelve units who primarily focus on a programme called CNVR (Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return).[11]

In 2017, Soi Dog started its humane education programme, which totalled 15,058 students and 861 teachers by 2020. This led to the establishment of a school, the Humane Education Centre, on 23 November 2020.[12]

The Soi Dog Foundation has extended its sterilisation programme throughout Thailand. As of 2022, 652,535 dogs and 109,507 cats were neutered. The foundation also collaborates with Animal Rescue Cambodia, headquartered in Phnom Penh, to extend stray animal sterilisation in Southeast Asia. During a meeting with Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt in 2022, the foundation announced that it plans to sterilise one million stray dogs and cats in Thailand by 2024.[11]

Soi Dog helps place rescued dogs for adoption in other countries, such as Canada[13] and the US.[14] It also provides research assistance to epidemiological studies of rabies,[15] parasitic (filarial) infections,[16] leptospirosis,[17] as well as drug (anaesthetic) effects.[18]

Support

British celebrities Judi Dench, Laura Carmichael, Peter Egan, Penelope Wilton, and Ricky Gervais launched a public campaign to support the foundation in 2014.[3] This proved a success in terms of political action: the National Assembly of Thailand passed its first animal welfare bill on 13 December 2014.[19] On 27 December, the government enacted the Prevention of Animal Cruelty and Provision of Animal Welfare Act, which was the first animal welfare act in Thailand.[4]

In 2005, Humane Society International gave $10,000 to the Soi Dog Foundation for rabies vaccination.[20]

Ambassadors

Apart from the officials in the foundation, honorary ambassadors include Naomi Bromley, a British vegan campaigner; Dena Kaplan, an Australian actress, singer, and dancer;[21] Natalie Glebova, a Russian-Canadian model, writer, and holder of the Miss Universe 2005 title;[22] and Kyle Leask, an autistic boy, and his dog Miracle, winner of the Eukanuba Friends for Life award.[23] In 2019, Thai-British actor Peter Denman was appointed Grand Ambassador of the foundation.[24]

Awards and honours

In 2014, the Soi Dog Foundation received the Thailand Green Excellence Award, conferred by Princess Ubol Ratana. The award has been instituted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and is managed by Wanderlust Travel Media. The judges remarked: "the Soi Dog Foundation demonstrates what a big difference one small organisation can make".[25] In 2023, the foundation's short film Love Will Always Triumph Over Evil, which depicted the story of Cola, a puppy whose front legs were amputated with a sword by an angry man, received the British Charity Film Awards in London.[26]

In 2020, John Dalley was included in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and was awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his work with the foundation.[27][28][29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About Soi Dog". Soi Dog. Soi Dog Foundation. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  2. ↑ Berger, Nomi (28 April 2014). "SOI DOG'S GROWING PRESENCE IN CANADA". Pet Connection. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Dearden, Lizzie (24 October 2014). "Ricky Gervais and Dame Judi Dench back campaign to stop Thailand dog meat trade". Independent. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 Klangboonkrong, Manta (13 February 2015). "New Thai law against animal cruelty puts burden on humans". Asia One. Singapore Press Holdings Ltd . Co. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Krausz, Tibor (29 January 2015). "John and Gill Dalley battled Thailand's illegal dog meat trade". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  6. 1 2 Caroline (14 May 2015). "Secrets of the Soi Dog Foundation". Spiritual Dog Trainer. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Soi Dog co-founder Gill Dalley passes away". The Nation. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "SOI Dog Foundation Changed My Life – An Inspirational Story". K9 Magazine. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Phuket officials, Soi Dog rally after dog rabies death". The Phuket News. 18 January 2019.
  10. ↑ Issarasena, Prowd (29 December 2020). "Soi Dog Foundation Rescued Half a Million Stray Cats & Dogs". TheSmartLocal Thailand – Things to Do in Bangkok. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  11. 1 2 Chuenniran, Achadthaya (16 August 2022). "1m strays to be neutered in 2 yrs". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "Soi Dog Foundation opens Humane Education Centre at shelter in Phuket". The Phuket News. 24 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "Dogs rescued from illegal dog meat trade in Thailand come to Vancouver". CBC. 16 April 2016.
  14. ↑ Sachs, Andrea (12 April 2023). "Animal-rescue centers want you to be a flight volunteer". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  15. ↑ Hiby, Elly; Rungpatana, Tuntikorn; Izydorczyk, Alicja; Rooney, Craig; Harfoot, Mike; Christley, Robert (23 May 2023). "Impact Assessment of Free-Roaming Dog Population Management by CNVR in Greater Bangkok". Animals. 13 (11): 1726. doi:10.3390/ani13111726. ISSN 2076-2615. PMC 10252118. PMID 37889632.
  16. ↑ Loymek, Sumas; Phuakrod, Achinya; Zaelai, Kati; Sripumkhai, Witsaroot; Vongjaroensanti, Prapakorn; Wongkamchai, Sirichit (28 February 2021). "Investigation on the Prevalence of Canine Microfilaremia in Thailand Using a Novel Microfluidic Device in Combination with Real-Time PCR". Veterinary Sciences. 8 (3): 39. doi:10.3390/vetsci8030039. ISSN 2306-7381. PMC 7997456. PMID 33671040.
  17. ↑ Sripattanakul, Sineenat; Boonchuay, Kanpapat; Prapong, Teerasak; Wajjwalku, Worawidh; Katzenmeier, Gerd; Haltrich, Dietmar; Hongprayoon, Ratchanee; Prapong, Siriwan (10 December 2022). "Leptospiral Leucine-Rich Repeat Protein-Based Lateral Flow for Assessment of Canine Leptospiral Immunoglobulin G". Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease. 7 (12): 427. doi:10.3390/tropicalmed7120427. ISSN 2414-6366. PMC 9787837. PMID 36548682.
  18. ↑ Jiwlawat, Nunnapas; Pacharinsak, Cholawat; Durongphongtorn, Sumit (1 June 2022). "Anesthetic effects of dexmeditomidine-tiletamine/zolazepam combination in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy". The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine. 52 (2): 267–274. ISSN 0125-6491.
  19. ↑ "Animal welfare bill 'too vague' – Phuket's Soi Dog charity". The Phuket News. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  20. ↑ Albrecht, Frances H. (2005). "Editor's Note: Tsunami Effects on Nonhuman Animals". Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. 8 (1): 69–71. doi:10.1207/s15327604jaws0801_6. ISSN 1088-8705. PMID 16004546. S2CID 20528848.
  21. ↑ "Dena Kaplan from NBC's 'Camp' Talks to Us About Her Healthy Living Philosophy, Body Image, & Shares a Favorite Recipe". There Are No Roads. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  22. ↑ "Former miss universe star dogs, cats join charity fair". The Nation. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  23. ↑ Humphreys, Nick (18 March 2015). "Mother's pride at Crufts award for "two little fighters"". Highland News. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  24. ↑ "Thai-British star Peter Denman named Brand Ambassador for Phuket's Soi Dog Foundation". The Phuket News. 31 January 2019.
  25. ↑ "Soi Dog Foundation wins 2014 'Thailand green excellence' award in UK". The Nation Thailand. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  26. ↑ "Soi Dog Foundation wins prestigious British charity film award". The Nation Thailand. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  27. ↑ Gardner, Tony (11 October 2020). "Leeds man John Dalley awarded MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to animal welfare after devoting his life to helping stray animals through Soi Dog Foundation". Yorkshire Post.
  28. ↑ Brewis, Harriet (9 October 2020). "The Queen's Birthday Honours list 2020 in full". Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  29. ↑ "Soi Dog Foundation founder gets British royal award". Bangkok Post. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
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