- Title: Cambodian tourist province bans 'alarming' dog meat trade
- Date: 9th July 2020
- Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (JULY 8, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SCREEN RECORDING OF SIEM REAP PROVINCIAL HALL FACEBOOK ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT BANNING TRADE AND DOG SLAUGHTER
- Embargoed: 23rd July 2020 08:04
- Keywords: Bangkok Butcher Cambodia Dog Dog meat Phnom Penh Siem Reap Slaughter Thailand Trade
- Location: PHNOM PENH, SIEM REAP PROVINCE, KANDAL PROVINCE, CAMBODIA / BANGKOK, PHUKET, THAILAND / INTERNET
- City: PHNOM PENH, SIEM REAP PROVINCE, KANDAL PROVINCE, CAMBODIA / BANGKOK, PHUKET, THAILAND / INTERNET
- Country: Various
- Topics: Lawmaking,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA002CM360QV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A Cambodian province popular with tourists has banned the trade and slaughtering of dogs for meat, saying that canines are loyal and capable of protecting property and even serving in the military.
Siem Reap province, home to the ancient Angkor Wat ruins, is the first place to issue such a ban in Cambodia, where an estimated three million dogs a year are slaughtered for meat.
Siem Reap, visited by more than 2 million tourists annually, has been identified as a dog meat hotspot responsible for the large-scale sourcing and trafficking of Cambodian canines, according to animal welfare group FOUR PAWS.
"We hope that it serves as a model for Cambodia," said Katherine Polak, head of FOUR PAWS Stray Animal Care in Southeast Asia. She called the ban historic and reflective of public sentiment.
The director of the provincial Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries department said demand was driven by foreigners, especially South Koreans, who are among the most frequent visitors.
Anyone caught selling dog meat would be made to sign an agreement not to do it again, then fined for repeated offense.
The ban says dogs should not be slaughtered because they are loyal pets capable of protecting homes and farms and of assisting the military.
Despite numerous campaigns against it, the eating and trading of dog meat still takes place in some parts of Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, even though canines are loved as family pets
(Production: Heng Mengheang, Chantha Lach, Jiraporn Kuhakan) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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