Cambodia's tourist hotspot bans dog meat trade

Yahoo – AFP, 8 July 2020

A dog sits in a cage next to a pit where the animals are drowned at a
slaughterhouse in Cambodia

The Cambodian tourist town of Siem Reap has banned the dog meat trade, a victory for animal rights campaigners who describe the area as the "lynchpin" of an industry that slaughters millions of creatures each year.

Dog meat, a cheap source of protein, is eaten in several Asian countries, including Cambodia, although it is much more popular in neighbouring Vietnam.

But animal rights group Four Paws has identified Siem Reap province -- home to the famed Angkor Wat temple complex -- as a hub for the trade within the kingdom, where they say three million dogs are butchered annually.

Siem Reap authorities announced a ban late Tuesday, with the provincial agricultural department saying the dog meat trade has descended into "anarchy" in recent years.

"It has caused the infection of rabies and other diseases from one region to another, which affects the public health," said the statement.

"The catching, buying, selling and slaughtering of dogs... will be punished severely."

The maximum penalty for dealing in dogs for slaughter as food is five years in prison, while fines range from 7-50 million riel ($1,700 to $12,200).

How the ban will be enforced remains to be seen, as Cambodia has long struggled with lax policing.

However, Four Paws on Wednesday hailed the decision to take out Siem Reap as a "lynchpin for the Cambodian dog meat trade".

"We hope that Siem Reap will serve as a model for the rest of the country to follow suit," said veterinarian Dr. Katherine Polak.

Their investigation last year found that the northern province served as a gateway for the trade, with roving dog catchers nabbing animals and selling them to over 20 dog meat restaurants in the tourist city.

Thousands are also transported each month to different parts of the country, including the capital Phnom Penh where there are still more than 100 restaurants.

On Wednesday, a streetside vendor in the capital continued to advertise dog meat on his menu, hawking barbecue dishes from $2.50 to $10 a kilogram.

Tourism to Cambodia has seized up due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Siem Reap draws the bulk of the kingdom's six million tourists, nearly half from China.

Cambodia firm to reduce elephant work hours after heatstroke death

Yahoo – AFP, April 26, 2016

Elephant rides are popular with tourists visiting Cambodia's Angkor Wat
temple (AFP Photo/Tang Chhin Sothy)

A Cambodian tour operator said Tuesday it would reduce work hours for elephants during high temperatures following the collapse and death of an animal which had been ferrying tourists in 40C heat.

The female elephant, aged between 40-45, died by the roadside on Friday after carrying tourists around Cambodia's famous Angkor Wat temple complex outside Siem Reap.

Photos were widely shared on social media, prompting calls for Cambodia to reform the already controversial elephant ride industry.

Oan Kiri, manager of Angkor Elephant Company, told AFP Tuesday that vets believed heatstroke was the cause of death.

"Veterinarians concluded that the elephant's death was caused by the hot temperatures which caused stress, shock, high blood pressure and a heart attack," he said.

The elephant had been working around 45 minutes, walking 2.1 kilometres carrying tourists, before she collapsed on her way to an enclosure.

Elephant Dies From Exhaustion After Carrying Tourists In Cambodian Heat

He added that the company was "regretful and felt pity" and would now let the 13 remaining elephants work fewer hours until temperatures drop.

The Greater Mekong region is experiencing its hot and dry season where temperatures of 40C (104 Fahrenheit) are not unusual. This year has seen particularly hot spells.

Animal rights groups have long complained that elephants which give rides to tourists across the region are routinely overworked and brutally broken in during training.

Thailand has seen multiple cases in recent months where elephants have killed their handlers or attacked tourists.

A petition on Change.org calling on Cambodian authorities to end elephant rides at Angkor had garnered 24,500 signatures by Tuesday afternoon.

"There is no such thing as cruelty-free elephant rides," it stated.

Handlers and tour operators have long argued that tourism provides much needed income and employment for people -- and for domesticated elephants that would otherwise risk abandonment and starvation.

But Jack Highwood, from the Elephant Valley Project, a Cambodian eco-tourism group, said the country only boasted about 70 domesticated elephants -- "too small a number not to regulate their use to protect their health and welfare."

US to Return Ancient Statue, Stolen in 1972, to Cambodia

Jakarta Globe – AFP, May 08, 2014

Sok An, left, Cambodia’s deputy prime minister and Preet Bharara, right, US
 Attorney for the Southern District of New York, after a ceremony held to
commemorate the return of the Duryodhana, a 10th Century sandstone sculpture,
 to Cambodia on May 7, 2014 at the US Attorney’s office in New York. (AFP
Photo/Stan Honda)

New York. An ancient statue of a warrior stolen in 1972 and which almost went on the auction block three years ago will be returned to Cambodia, US authorities said on Wednesday.

The 10th-century sandstone “Duryodhana bondissant” was stolen from the Prasat Chen temple at Koh Ker in Cambodia and first sold at auction in London in 1975.

It was supposed to have come back on the auction block at Sotheby’s in New York in March 2011, but the sale was stopped after Cambodian authorities made an appeal through Unesco.

The Koh Ker site is significant from a religious, historical, and artistic perspective, and the Duryodhana is considered a piece of extraordinary value to the Cambodian people and part of their cultural heritage.

At a ceremony with Sok An, a Cambodian deputy prime minister, District Attorney Preet Bharara hailed the happy ending and return to Cambodia of “a priceless piece of art, a priceless part of Cambodia’s unique cultural history.”

“After almost two years of litigation the [private] sellers have agreed to return it to where it belongs, the Kingdom of Cambodia,” he added.

The statue, 1.58 meters tall and weighing almost 110 kilograms, was part of a group of two fighters. The second statue, “Bhima,” was bought in 1976 by the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California.

After months of discussions, the US museum also agreed to return its statue to Cambodia, according to Sok An.

“Duryodhana’s” homecoming is expected in June, officials said, and it is hoped that “Bhima” will follow around the same time.

Agence France-Presse

Indonesia, Cambodia ink cultural deal

The Jakarta Post, Sat, 02/28/2009 11:11 AM  

INDONESIA: Indonesian Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on culture with Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Him Chhem at the Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday. 

The cooperation covers the research and development of culture, education and training, joint promotion of culture and arts, world heritage, dialogues on culture and arts, and cultural information exchanges 

Both countries have arranged short- and middle-term programs, ranging from 2009-2011 and 2000-2014, respectively. Among the programs are a seminar on illicit trafficking of cultural properties, exchange of experts in cultural heritage management and training in the investment for the use of heritage, including filmmaking. 

"Indonesia and Cambodia have had close relations for thousands of years. We hope the cooperation will boost the ties," Jero said. 

Minister Him Chhem also expressed hope that Indonesia and Cambodia would boost cooperation in culture and tourism. 

"Both countries have similar heritage. Cambodia has close ties with Indonesia and we hope to have beneficial cooperation," he said. --JP/Ni Komang Erviani