The Soi Dog Foundation aims to neuter and vaccinate one million stray dogs and cats in Thailand in the next two years.
It has neutered and vaccinated over 750,000 animals since 2003. The foundation’s CNVR (Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return) programme began in Phuket the same year.
After almost two decades of work, it has expanded the project to more than 16 provinces including Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai and Songkhla. As of now, 652,535 dogs and 109,507 cats have passed through the programme, preventing the births of millions of unwanted puppies and kittens.
Late last year, the foundation announced a collaboration with Animal Rescue Cambodia (ARC) in Phnom Penh — their first animal sterilisation project outside Thailand — to further tackle the stray dog population in Southeast Asia.
The foundation runs the programme mostly through its 12 units nationwide with each team neutering and vaccinating between 40 and 45 animals a day.
Staff last month showcased the foundation’s work to Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt during a meeting to solve the problem of stray animals in Bangkok. Soi Dog’s CNVR director Tuntikorn Rungpattana said the foundation had proposed the sterilisation programme during a meeting with the governor.
Mr Tuntikorn said the governor agreed with the concept of sterilisation as the most viable method of managing the stray animal population.
Meanwhile, the foundation has relaunched its campaign to end the dog and cat meat trade in Asia after the Covid-19 pandemic hampered progress during 2020 and 2021. With many pandemic restrictions now lifted, Soi Dog is once again tackling the trade throughout the region. The “Last Country on Earth” campaign has been created to pressure Asian countries to end the dog and cat meat trade.