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.
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