Volunteering Mission To Thailand

Freddies Friends Foundation send regular donations to a number of animal rescue sanctuaries in Thailand. In January 2023 I am going to Thailand for 6 weeks to volunteer at a number of dog and elephant rescue sanctuaries.

A planned trip to travel in south east Asia was cut short by the arrival of Covid. I arrived in Bangkok in Jaunary 2020 just as Covid broke out in Thailand and whilst I managed to spend a few weeks in Bangkok and Pattaya I soon had to return to the UK or else I would have been stranded.

In the short time I was there I discovered first hand experience of the sad and pitiful life of street dogs, otherwise known as Soi dogs. I also got the chance to visit a rescue sanctuary for Elephants which was a very memorable time and very humbling. You honestly do not forget time spent with these gentle giants!

This time in Thailand played a part in the birth of Freddies Friends Foundation and returning to volunteer there is fulfilling a commitment to help the shelters we have 'adopted' to support.

I am self funding my travel itinerary which involves visiting rescue sanctuaries in Bangkok, Pattaya, Rayong, Hua Hin, Koh Samui, Krabi, Phuket, Nakhon Ratchasima and Chiang Mai. I will be visiting:

The Voice, Bangkok

Dog Rescue Thailand, Rayong

Man That Rescues Dogs, Pattaya

Pattaya Elephant Sanctuary

Hen Lek Fai, Hua Hin

Niall Benson, Koh Samui

Angel-Angel, Krabi

Soi Dog Foundation, Phuket

K9 Korat, Nakhon Ratchasima

Elephant Nature Park, Chiang Mai

The Ark Shelter, Chiang Mai

Volunteering can involve meal preparation, feeding, giving medicines, walking the dogs, cleaning, helping with admin, transporting dogs to vets, collecting rescue dogs and all other everyday processes at a rescue shelter.

I have an ambition to fund the sterilisation of at least 40 street dogs or as many as possible and cats too if funds allow. In addition I want to fund tick and flea treatments, vaccinations and purchases of food and medicines.

The sales of Preloved items in our Paws For Thought shop along with customer donations in the shop are going towards this cause and we stand at nearly £200 so far!

There is only one solution to reducing street dog number and that is through sterilisation. However, there is absolutely no government or regional administration support for this. It is literally the case that if rescue shelters did not exist the numbers of street dogs would be in the millions and their lives, while already full of misery, would be horrific!

In times past, one solution taken from a regional and government level was to allow the large scale capture and collection of street dogs for export to countries who eat dog meat such as Vietnam and China who to this day, still do. Thankfully, this is no longer done but some Provinces either directly or indirectly, employ people to actively cull street dogs to reduce numbers. Poisoning is just one cruel means of doing this.

The sterilisation of just one street dog, over years, reduces the pyramid effect of new born puppies into the thousands. It's no exaggeration!

That said, as in most countries around the world there is a callus disregard towards animal welfare with so many nationals prepared to breed dogs for profit or for fighting, abandon pet dogs and torture street dogs if they are felt to be a nuisance. All of which add to the already out of control problem.

On the flip side, as is also the case around the world, many nationals are animal lovers and so many Thai people take in or look out for local street dogs. The average daily wage in rural areas of Thailand is around £3.00 for a hard days labouring on a farm. In monsoon season farm labourers cannot work which means they do not earn. Even on just £3 they will find and make what food they can to feed local street dogs. However, often, street dogs can suffer from serious illness or wounds suffered in dog fights that get worse and folk won't or can't do anything about it. Some will share details of a suffering dog on Facebook hoping someone will help but there are so, so many suffering. Others, due to their Buddhist religion, believe that nature should be allowed to take its course and not to interfere.

Finally, before Covid many street dogs managed to survive on the love of tourists who would give them scraps and the help from nationals who were enjoying better times. When Covid arrived it became a disaster in Thailand. Tourism fell off a cliff face. The dogs suffered enormously and in turn, the shelters became overwhelmed.

Some folk will feel that we have enough challenges in our own countries to worry about the problems of animals in other countries and of course, to a large degree that is true. That said, many countries do have some basic level of animal welfare or that their country did not suffer as badly as other due to Covid. Either way, a pet, mammal or animal suffering due to a lack of animal welfare legislation, or an invasion such as in Ukraine, or global climate changes leading to floods and forest fires, are nothing to do with the lives of innocent animals and some places the causes are too big to simply ignore on the basis we have our own 'problems'.

I will post updates of my volunteering work in Thailand and some of the upsetting stuff I see daily on my socials but will experience first hand.

Your support will be hugely appreciated by the rescue sanctuaries who are in desperate need of it!