British pop star Will Young lends support to end thailand's illegal dog meat trade
British singer-songwriter and actor Will Young today announced his patronage of the Phuket-based dog and cat welfare charity Soi Dog Foundation, which is leading the fight to end Thailand's illegal dog meat trade. Young became aware of Soi Dog's work afte
“I am thrilled and honoured to be a new patron of Soi Dog Foundation. The plight of dogs caught in the dog meat trade is heartbreaking. As a proud nation of animal lovers, I hope that people will get behind this incredible charity to rescue animals and give them a chance of happiness”, Young said.
At the trade’s height in 2011, some 500,000 dogs a year were illegally smuggled from Thailand to Vietnam, where their fate was torture and death prior to being served up in the restaurants of Hanoi as a delicacy.
“Every aspect of this trade inflicts such incredible cruelty and pain to the animals: from the sourcing of street dogs to the transportation in tightly packed cages for hundreds of miles without food or water, to the torture the dogs are subjected to prior to death, in the misguided belief that adrenaline improves the texture and flavour of the meat,” says Gill Dalley, co-founder and Global Ambassador of Soi Dog,
“Many dogs are boiled and skinned alive. Will can help us bring this trade to the attention of more people right around the world, and with greater support, we can shut it down for good much quicker. We really appreciate Will becoming a patron, and we look forward to working with him in the future”.
Soi Dog has been working in co-operation with the Royal Thai Police, the Royal Thai Army and the Royal Thai Navy to intercept trucks taking dogs from Northeast Thailand on the long trip through Laos to Vietnam, and to shelter the animals and have them adopted. Recently, Soi Dog together with three other charities in the Asia Canine Protection Alliance (ACPA) also launched a campaign in Vietnam to call on the government there to outlaw the consumption of dog meat.
Will Young has been a fixture on the UK music and culture scene since his debut album in 2002 “From Now On” went straight to number one in the charts. He has won two BRIT Awards and was recently nominated for an Oliver Award for his performance in “Cabaret” in London’s West End.
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