Animal rights activists and Thai netizens were outraged after learning stray dogs in the central province of Sing Buri were drugged so that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha could visit the area without any drama.
PM Prayut visited Sing Buri on Monday, October 24, to check the province’s flood situation and offer his support to victims affected by the floods. The PM visited 10 households in the Mueng district by boat and continued to Pikun Thong Temple by car to meet locals in the Tha Chang district.
One reporter from Thairath posted a video of a stray dog wobbling along the street at Pikun Thong Temple on Twitter, claiming that the dog had just awoken after being doped for the PM’s visit.
The video went viral and Thai Twitter users criticised those responsible. Thai netizens said the visits of politicians should not be a burden on locals or the animals. Some commented that drugging dogs was too much and unacceptable, adding the animals never go near crowds to hurt or annoy anyone.
Other netizens did not believe the claim and condemned the reporter for making up the story to destroy the reputation of the PM and the government.
However, Sing Buri Provincial Livestock Department later admitted that they did anesthetise 11 stray dogs at a nearby temple. The official reported that they did it to keep the dogs safe. The official added that anaesthetising the animals would prevent the dogs from attacking anyone and also keep them from being hurt by people who might feel threatened.
Thairath reported that this is not the first time Thai officials anesthetised dogs just to welcome a politician. Dogs at another temple in Sing Buri, named Wat Phra Non Chak Si Worawihan, were drugged nine years ago in 2013 when former Prime Minister Yingluck Chinnawat visited the temple.