Stray dogs intimidate foreign tourists at Krabi’s Ao Nang Beach

There’s been more drama involving stray dogs at Ao Nang Beach in Krabi province.

A pack of stray dogs intimidated two foreign tourists on the beach, The Phuket Express reported yesterday. The couple was walking their pet dog along the beach when the pack of five to six strays aggressively barked at them.

The couple tried to chase the dogs away, but they were unsuccessful. Video footage released on Daily Mail recorded the incident.

The tourists finally picked up their dog and walked away. They recommended that relevant officials remove all stray dogs from the area.

This news comes after another incident involving stray dogs on Ao Nang Beach just last month.

On March 11, a beach holiday went completely wrong for one tourist after a dog viciously attacked him on the beach. The tourist, 60 year old Thai national Daniel Sudjai Kutrakun, had been walking on the beach with his American wife to have a look at the area where his daughter plans to get married in three months’ time. The two were looking to see what activities wedding guests could do during their stay.

Suddenly, Daniel and his wife saw a pack of about five stray dogs. One of the dogs ran over to Daniel and bit his left leg. Daniel’s medical expenses to treat his wound ended up costing him over 20,000 baht. The incident happened on Ao Nang Beach Moo 2. Daniel ended up donating 20,000 baht worth of food for stray dogs to the Ao Nang Administrative Organisation Office.

Recently, officials have also been trying to tackle problems with stray dogs in Phuket.

Last week, following complaints from fed up locals, Phuket officials swooped on stray dogs in the island province’s main city district. The residents had complained that a pack of dogs had been causing a nuisance. They said the dogs were chasing after motorcycles, as well as defecating on streets and people’s properties.

The Department of Public Health and Environment’s veterinary team, and officials from Phuket Municipality, caught two strays in the Taling Chan community. The rest of the dogs, however, managed to run away.

In 2017, it was estimated that there were 860,000 stray dogs and cats in Thailand. That’s more than double the 350,000 in a decade earlier in 2007. Somchuan Ratanamungklanon, the deputy director-general of Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development predicted that in 2027, Thailand would have “as many as two million stray dogs and cats in 2027 and five million in 2037.”