PHNOM PENH, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap provincial authorities on Wednesday banned trading dogs for meat, saying that violators would be punished in accordance with the law.
Siem Reap is a cultural province that houses the famed Angkor Archeological Park, the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian nation. The park attracted 2.2 million foreign tourists last year.
Tea Kimsoth, chief of the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said since ancient times, people have treated dogs as loyal pets and that dogs are very useful to protect houses, farms and herds and to assist military work.
"In recent years, trading and slaughtering dogs for meat have been anarchic and have alarmingly increased," he said in a statement. "This is a sign showing the decline in humanitarian value and virtue."
He said dog meat trade is also the cause of the transmission of rabies and other diseases from an area to another that can harm public health.
"Trapping, trading and slaughtering dogs anarchically are against the Law on Health Animal and Production, and perpetrators will be seriously punished under the Articles 112, 113 or 115 of the Law," Kimsoth said.
"Therefore, the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries bans trading all kinds of dogs for meat without permission from now on," he said.
Under the Articles 112 and 113, violators will face a fine of 2,500 U.S. dollars, while under the Article 115, perpetrators can be jailed from two to five years, with a fine of 12,500 dollars. Enditem
