Everything you need to know about the DOG & CAT MEAT TRADE in Cambodia

I didn’t know much about the dog and cat meat trade at all until I began working at an animal rescue in Cambodia, called PPAWS. On my very first day there, I was sitting at the reception in the veterinary centre trying to organise the filing system for the animal patients we took in. There was a big sliding gate to the entrance of PPAWS which we kept closed so that no animals could run out onto the street. I heard a tuk-tuk pull up outside and someone shout something in Khmer, the local language. One of our vets was doing rehabilitation work with a dog in the courtyard and ran over to open the gate. The tuk-tuk pulled in and I could see a dog lying in the back and clearly suffering. After speaking to the man driving the tuk-tuk, one of the vets explained to me that the dog was a pet and he had been stolen from a garden, tied to the back of a motorcycle and dragged along the street before somehow escaping. The owner was a local neighbour who found the dog and brought him to us for help.

Credit: FourPaws #ProtectMillions

Dog snatching is common in Cambodia, with both strays and pets as victims. The reason behind this is to fuel the dog meat trade, a common delicacy in Cambodia of which I had no idea existed until I saw charred bodies of dogs and cats on BBQs outside restaurants, as I walked or rode my motorbike to work each day. Every week working at the Vet Clinic, we had frantic calls from pet owners when their animals were stolen for the dog meat trade, desperate for their return.

Approximately 30 million cats and dogs are killed for their meat every year in Asia, with about 3 million in Cambodia. They are stolen, kept it horrible conditions and then brutally killed. Apart from the obvious animal welfare issues with this trade, it is becoming more and more obvious that the eating of stray animals can pose a serious threat to humans with potential spread of rabies, other diseases and pandemics like Covid-19.

But why?

Dog meat is seen as a delicacy in many countries in Southeast Asia. Part of this is steeped in tradition as seen in China’s infamous Yulin Dog Meat Festival.

From speaking to people in Cambodia however, I have heard that the reason for eating dog and cat meat came from a much more tragic place. When the Khmer Rouge ruled over Cambodia in 1951 –1999, widespread famine and poverty meant that families ate what they could find. In many countries in Southeast Asia, there is a phenomenal amount of stray animals due to a lack of population control, meaning that stray dogs and cats are everywhere.

More recently, an increase in tourism in Cambodia, especially from South Korea, has led to a rise in the trade as a form of delicacy and demand by these foreign visitors.

Its a very profitable trade, with a live dog fetching between 1.80 and 2.70 Euros per kilo, while a kilo of raw meat is sold for up to 3.60 Euros - a lot of money for someone in Cambodia. When I was there, 110 known dog meat restaurants were based in the capital city of Phnom Penh alone.

Its usually served in a curry or grilled. The smell is pungent and large amount of herbs and spice are used to mask the smell. Only about 12% of the population of Cambodia actually eat dog or cat meat on a regular basis, which really shows the demand from foreigners that fuel the trade.

What is being done about it and what can you do?

Before working at PPAWS, I volunteered with Animal Rescue Cambodia, an animal welfare NGO that began working with international organisation FOURPAWS, to work towards ending the dog and cat meat trade in Cambodia.

FOUR PAWS’ campaign to #ProtectMillions of animals and people from the dangers of the dog and cat meat trade was launched in October 2019. Since then, tremendous steps have been taken to bring an end to the trade and help animals. This includes shutting down dog and cat meat restaurants by finding alternative employment routes for the business owners (they’ve have some dog meat restaurants swap to vegan restaurants with huge profits for the owners!). They are also working on the policy side of things, talking to governments and helping to implement new laws and controls. Finally, awareness of the trade and education are important steps to ending it for good.

Check out the Action section of this blog to see the most up to date campaigns on the dog and cat meat trade and how you can help!