Monks’ misconduct: Temple faces complaint for dog abuse in southern Thailand

Tha Sala District Livestock Office filed a complaint against an abbot and monks at Jan Por Temple in the Tha Sala district in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat for physically abusing a dog. The dog was seriously injured and may lose its sight.

Twitter user @whathappenMr shared a video of three monks and another man beating a black dog at their accommodation within the temple on January 18. The monks can be seen beating the dog with a wooden stick. Pictures of the dog showed that two of its eyes were red and blood was flowing from its eyes.

The Twitter account updated later that another monk at the temple, Noppadon Intapanyo, took the dog to see a doctor. It is now under the care of the vet but its condition remains critical. Channel 7 reported that the dog’s eyes were seriously injured and could lead to the loss of vision.

After the video went viral on social media, an officer from the Tha Sala District Livestock Office investigated the video and filed a complaint against an abbot named Danai Yansuttho. The identities of the other two monks and the man in the footage were not revealed.

Some locals who live near the temple told Channel 7 that many cats and dogs had been abused at the temple before. Some lost their lives in the abuse while others suffered serious injuries. According to locals, one dog needed 30 stitches because of the impact of a ping-pong bomb while another dog was shot with a sling.

The monk, Noppadon, said he took care of the dogs and cats at the temple. He fed them and made all the animals in the temple love to play with him. He did not know the motive for the attack but suspected that the dog had destroyed something belonging to the abbot.

However, some locals disagreed, saying that the abbot did not like Noppadon and chose to take out his hatred and anger on the animals Noppadon cared for.