https://news.yahoo.com/sin-cambodias-brutal-shadowy-dog-meat-trade-065939849.html
Siem Reap (Cambodia) (AFP) - 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.
Khieu Chan bursts into tears when describing a job that haunts him as he goes to sleep: he kills 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 tells the 10 dogs awaiting their fate in a cage.
A cheap source of protein, dog meat is still eaten in several Asian countries from China and South Korea to Vietnam and non-Muslim communities in Indonesia.
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 two to three 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.
"It has this massive trade," says Katherine Polak, a Thailand-based veterinarian who works with the NGO, which recently presented findings to the government.
Officials were "shocked" by the magnitude, she claims.
"On a good day, I kill 10 dogs or 12 dogs," says former soldier Hun Hoy.
"I also feel pity for them, but I have to strangle them," the 59-year-old adds.
Drowning is the preferred method of slaughter a few hours away in Kampong Cham and Kandal provinces. "By putting them in the cage and drowning them in a pit, we don't have to hear their cries," said one woman.
Meat and parts are sold onto restaurants, where they are a popular with day labourers as a barbecued snack or a $1.25 soup.
The psychological trauma to bring cheap meat to the table is immense and those who find a better job take it.
Next to his dog cage in Takeo, Khieu Chan spoke about meeting Four Paws during their investigation of the trade. In an unconventional twist, they gave him land for farming if he would close his restaurant.
One recent afternoon he helped the NGO gingerly take the sickly dogs out of the cage placed under a tree. But before they were removed and sent to Phnom Penh for treatment, he knelt by the bars to say goodbye. He says: "Now you have freedom. You are spared from death."
