Inside Cambodia’s brutal dog meat trade, which claims millions of animals each year
- Researchers say the dog meat trade is a public health crisis because it carries potentially infected animals all over the country
- Slaughterhouses in developing countries put some distance between workers and animals. But the Cambodian dog trade is hands on
Cambodian dog meat traders drown, strangle and stab thousands of canines a day in a shadowy but sprawling business that traumatises workers and exposes them to deadly health risks like rabies.
Former restaurant owner Khieu Chan bursts into tears when describing a job that still haunts him as he goes to sleep: killing up to six dogs a day, slicing their throats.
“‘Please forgive me. If I don’t kill you, I can’t feed my family’,” the 41-year-old would tell the dogs awaiting their fate in a cage.
Animal welfare activists say consumption has declined as the region’s middle class has grown – more people own pets, and there’s greater stigma associated with eating dog. But the brutal trade has flown under the radar in Cambodia where new research shows a thriving business involving roving dog catchers, unlicensed slaughterhouses and many restaurants in cities selling so-called “special meat”.
An estimated 2-3 million dogs are slaughtered annually in Cambodia, according to the NGO Four Paws, which identified more than 100 dog meats restaurants in the capital Phnom Penh and about 20 in the temple town of Siem Reap.
