Education is a crucial component in solving the long-term challenges of stray animal population control in Thailand

There is no effective legislation in Thailand to protect animals, nor is animal welfare education part of the established curriculum in schools. Culturally, animals have been viewed for generations as either useful (as food or labour), dangerous or superfluous. Only within the last two decades has pet ownership become popular in Thailand and as yet most people have no concept of what is required to care for pets properly.

Without guidance, children remain unable to empathise or to understand that animals can feel much as they themselves do: that animals feel pain, hunger, thirst; that they can feel frightened or contented, lonely, bored, excited or happy. Without this knowledge, these children are likely to grow up making the same mistakes their elders have made before them, and countless thousands of cats and dogs, born or abandoned on Thailand’s streets, will suffer because of it.

By offering children of all ages appropriate information through a variety of school-led initiatives, animal welfare organisations can instill in them the wisdom needed to become compassionate adults, to understand the magical bond that exists between humans and animals – and to recognise that by taking care of animals, the world becomes a better place for us all.