http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/258385/4-months-each-for-dog-traders
<p class="preParagraph">Five members of a gang believed to supply dogs to restaurants across Asia were on Monday sentenced to eight months in jail for attempting to smuggle more than 1200 dogs across the Mekong river to Laos in August.</p>
<p>The jail term was reduced to four months because they pleaded guilty.</p>
<p>Four Thai men and one Vietnamese man were arrested with 1,260 dogs in four six-wheel trucks on Aug 11 by officials led by Nakhon Phanom governor Roengsak Mahavinijchaimontree as they were about to put the animals on board a boat in Ban Phaeng district.</p>
<div class="articlePhotoLeft"><img src="http://www.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20110926/313247.jpg" border="1" alt="" hspace="3" vspace="3" />
<p>Photo by Pornprom Satarbhaya</p>
</div>
<p>The Thais were identified as Noppadol Chaiwangrat, 40, a villager from tambon Tha Rae of Sakon Nakhon; Montree Panklang, 37, of Nakhon Phanom's Ban Phaeng district; and Anusorn Bupasiri, 37, and Veerawat Sawasdee, 22, of Nakhon Phanom's Na Wa district.</p>
<p>The Vietnamese man was identified only as Phan, 35.</p>
<p>The court found them guilty of violating Section 91 of the Criminal Code for illegal trading in animals and transporting them without permission.</p>
<p>Their lawyers said they would appeal and applied for their clients' release on bail. The court reserved its decision.</p>
<p>It was believed the dogs were headed for restaurants in Asia.</p>
<p>The dogs seized on Aug 11 were quarantined at a centre in Nakhon Phanom. Only 770 are still alive. The others died of disease, according to news reports.</p>
<p>Following the seizure of the dogs, a fund was set up to take donations for the dogs. The fund raised about 22 million baht and four million baht has been spent on food and medical care, the reports said.</p>
<p>The quarantine centre is spending 50,000 baht a day to look after the remaining dogs and will have to continue doing this until their owners show up to claim them.</p>
<p>Police said dog trading gangs roam northern, northeastern and central provinces stealing and bartering for dogs.</p>
<p>Dog meat is in high demand in some districts of the Northeast, particularly in tambon Tha Rae of Sakhon Nakhon province.</p>
<p>The meat is also highly popular in Vietnam, which has caused dog trading to flourish.</p>
<p>The dog trade has been in existence for many years, particularly in Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom, which serve as a gateway for smugglers who send boatloads of the animals across the Mekong River to Laos, and on to Vietnam for sale at prices many times higher than in Thailand.</p>
<p>The trade has been regularly deplored by animal lovers and animal rights activists.</p>
<div class="articlePhotoCenter"><img src="http://www.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20110926/313248.jpg" border="1" alt="" hspace="3" vspace="3" />
<p>Photos by Somchai Poomlard</p>
</div>
<div class="articlePhotoCenter"><img src="http://www.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20110926/313249.jpg" border="1" alt="" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></div>
<div class="articlePhotoCenter"><img src="http://www.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20110926/313250.jpg" border="1" alt="" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></div>
<
<p class="preParagraph">Five members of a gang believed to supply dogs to restaurants across Asia were on Monday sentenced to eight months in jail for attempting to smuggle more than 1200 dogs across the Mekong river to Laos in August.</p>
<p>The jail term was reduced to four months because they pleaded guilty.</p>
<p>Four Thai men and one Vietnamese man were arrested with 1,260 dogs in four six-wheel trucks on Aug 11 by officials led by Nakhon Phanom governor Roengsak Mahavinijchaimontree as they were about to put the animals on board a boat in Ban Phaeng district.</p>
<div class="articlePhotoLeft"><img src="http://www.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20110926/313247.jpg" border="1" alt="" hspace="3" vspace="3" />
<p>Photo by Pornprom Satarbhaya</p>
</div>
<p>The Thais were identified as Noppadol Chaiwangrat, 40, a villager from tambon Tha Rae of Sakon Nakhon; Montree Panklang, 37, of Nakhon Phanom's Ban Phaeng district; and Anusorn Bupasiri, 37, and Veerawat Sawasdee, 22, of Nakhon Phanom's Na Wa district.</p>
<p>The Vietnamese man was identified only as Phan, 35.</p>
<p>The court found them guilty of violating Section 91 of the Criminal Code for illegal trading in animals and transporting them without permission.</p>
<p>Their lawyers said they would appeal and applied for their clients' release on bail. The court reserved its decision.</p>
<p>It was believed the dogs were headed for restaurants in Asia.</p>
<p>The dogs seized on Aug 11 were quarantined at a centre in Nakhon Phanom. Only 770 are still alive. The others died of disease, according to news reports.</p>
<p>Following the seizure of the dogs, a fund was set up to take donations for the dogs. The fund raised about 22 million baht and four million baht has been spent on food and medical care, the reports said.</p>
<p>The quarantine centre is spending 50,000 baht a day to look after the remaining dogs and will have to continue doing this until their owners show up to claim them.</p>
<p>Police said dog trading gangs roam northern, northeastern and central provinces stealing and bartering for dogs.</p>
<p>Dog meat is in high demand in some districts of the Northeast, particularly in tambon Tha Rae of Sakhon Nakhon province.</p>
<p>The meat is also highly popular in Vietnam, which has caused dog trading to flourish.</p>
<p>The dog trade has been in existence for many years, particularly in Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom, which serve as a gateway for smugglers who send boatloads of the animals across the Mekong River to Laos, and on to Vietnam for sale at prices many times higher than in Thailand.</p>
<p>The trade has been regularly deplored by animal lovers and animal rights activists.</p>
<div class="articlePhotoCenter"><img src="http://www.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20110926/313248.jpg" border="1" alt="" hspace="3" vspace="3" />
<p>Photos by Somchai Poomlard</p>
</div>
<div class="articlePhotoCenter"><img src="http://www.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20110926/313249.jpg" border="1" alt="" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></div>
<div class="articlePhotoCenter"><img src="http://www.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20110926/313250.jpg" border="1" alt="" hspace="3" vspace="3" /></div>
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