Editor:
On the afternoon of July 28, I went to Jomtien Beach
for a swim. The entire shoreline and the first 5 meters of water were full
of trash. It boggles my mind that a beach resort community that is trying
to attract more visitors can allow this. All the hoopla about marketing
and promoting the area as a tourist destination, why not a greater
emphasis on cleaning up the beaches? Every travel brochure promoting
tourist destinations with beaches shows pictures of beautiful, clean
beaches. How many tourists would flock here if they saw pictures of
beaches with all the garbage?
Anyway, here are a few suggested solutions:
1. Impose heavy fines for littering, and post plenty of
signs in at least English and Thai stating the amount of the fine.
Realistically, few will ever get caught, but it will at least serve as a
deterrent.
2. Install more trash cans, and place them close to
where the littering takes place so that even lazy slobs may be inspired to
use them.
3.Hire a crew with the full time job of picking up
trash on the beach. Who will pay for it? If the city can’t, how about
the beach chair rental businesses? They have the most obvious benefit. If
each one paid only 20 baht per day (the cost of one chair rental), that
should more than cover it. Maybe they can have the alternative of keeping
it clean themselves to avoid paying the 20 baht.
The dog problem: Something needs to be done about the
stray dog problem. They cause motor vehicle accidents; spread disease,
ticks and fleas; poop on the beach; are a negative factor for tourism; and
many dogs suffer needlessly. Many of us have seen the occasional dog
maimed by a passing car, or the dog with virtually no fur who scratched
himself raw from some skin condition. Left unchecked, the dog problem will
only get worse. Suggested solutions:
1. A new law requiring everyone owning a dog to put a
collar on it with a tag stating the address of the owner. Dog owners
allowing their dogs to stray would be subject to fines.
2. All stray dogs would be picked up by the “Dog
Catcher”. All the caught dogs will be held for a certain number of days
to allow possible owners to claim them. After that, they would be put to
sleep. Dogs deemed to have a chance of being adopted can be given
veterinary care and held a bit longer to await a potential new owner.
I love dogs, and hate the idea of killing any animal.
But in this case, it’s the most humane thing to do in the long run.
Anyone who objects or screams cruelty can either: a) adopt a bunch of dogs
and take care of them, or b) come up with a better solution. Objections
without better solutions are the same as votes for the status quo and the
suffering of the animals.
Financing this would obviously be a problem. License
fees paid by dog owners could help, but wouldn’t be enough and would be
problematic anyway. I personally believe that a fund drive for private
donations could do very well. Promoted properly, it would appeal to dog
lovers everywhere. The more donations, the better care can be provided for
the animals.
John P. - a Jomtien Beach Resident (who now swims in the condo pool)
