Tawee’s lethal action underscores stray-animal problem

If former deputy minister Tawee Kraikupt killed that stray dog under the circumstances he described, I don’t think he broke any animal-cruelty law and should not be prosecuted. Animal rights don’t apply to killing an animal in self-defence, just as human rights don’t cover killing a human for that reason.

I’d be depressed to think that animal-rights activists would waste their time on a ridiculous case like this. Instead they should be focusing on the real issues in Thailand, such as the mistreatment of farm animals and elephants and ensuring that dogs and cats are spayed and neutered, which might have prevented the unfortunate incident involving Tawee in the first place.

Eric Bahrt