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A28 WORLD NEWS
Friday 7 august 2020
Cambodian butcher quits dog meat trade, shuts slaughterhouse

By SOPHENG CHEANG theories of reincarnation,
Associated Press bode ill for their future lives.
CHI MEAKH, Cambodia Another villager, Rouen
(AP) — Animal rights ac- Veasna, said he ate dog
tivists in Cambodia have occasionally when he was
gained a small victory in younger, but it became a
their effort to end the trade habit after the local slaugh-
in dog meat, convincing a terhouse opened, and he
canine slaughterhouse in would have it for lunch
one village to abandon the or dinner, and sometimes
business. while drinking with friends.
Buth Pith and his wife Khath Prum Nhenh, who oper-
Hach this week shut down ates a small restaurant that
the small abattoir they had serves dog meat, said it
operated for about seven would be difficult to afford
years after animal protec- medicine for her 80-year-
tion groups agreed to pro- old mother without the
vide them an alternate liv- money the meat brings in.
ing by building a small con- She said she opened her
venience store for them. restaurant more than a
Animal activists are taking year ago and initially just
the 15 dogs that had been sold items such as soft
caged at the slaughter- Dogs lay in a cage in a slaughterhouse as they wait for the FOUR PAWS International, rescue them drinks, beer and eggs. But
house to an animal shel- at Chi Meakh village in Kampong Thom province north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, she put dog on the menu
ter in the capital, Phnom Aug. 5, 2020. and it proved popular, al-
Penh, for rehabilitation, Associated Press lowing her to sell meat from
after which they will be of- as many as four dogs a
fered for adoption, either in however, it has become at both the national and my job to start butchering day.
Cambodia or abroad. popular. provincial level takes an in- dogs instead," he said. "The price of pork, the price
The closure Wednesday in An estimated 2 million to 3 terest in the dog meat issue He has no idea how many of beef is expensive and
Chi Meakh village in Kam- million dogs are killed annu- because they "do not view dogs he has killed, but said does not sell as well, re-
pong Thom province fol- ally in Cambodia for their this as Khmer (Cambodian) he usually butchered five ducing my income, while
lows a bigger victory in the meat, according a recent culture. They view this as a to eight a day. dog meat is cheaper, and
northwestern province of report by the groups Four Vietnamese import in terms His wife Khath Hach, 37, people like to consume it,"
Siem Reap, a popular tour- Paws International, based of culinary preference and said she never was com- she said.
ist destination, which in July in Austria, and Animal Res- ... dogs play a really criti- fortable with the business Khath Hach, the butcher's
outlawed the buying, sell- cue Cambodia. cal role in national peace- but it was necessary to sup- wife, believes there are
ing and butchering of dogs They say that not only is kill- keeping, in mine detec- port their family, including benefits more important
for food. ing the dogs inhumane, but tion." two children. than money to be gained
But animal lovers still have a eating them is a health risk Buth Pith, the 38-year-old She said many villagers from giving up the dog
long way to go. Dog is fa- that can spread rabies. The dog butcher in Chi Meakh, complained when they meat trade.
mously part of the cuisine in practice also hurt the tour- explained why he entered heard the sounds of the She said after she opens
neighboring Vietnam, while ist industry, they say. the trade. dogs suffering before they the family's new conve-
eating dog meat was tradi- Katherine Polak, Four Paws' "Before I was a seller of died, and her own parents nience store, other villagers
tionally shunned in Cam- head of stray animal care freshwater fish, but when I told her that they should will no longer look down on
bodia, considered by an for Southeast Asia, told The saw other villagers slaugh- stop the killing because it them and they won't have
older generation to bring Associated Press that the tering dogs and earning a would bring bad luck and, the taint of sin from killing
bad luck. In recent years, Cambodian government better income, I switched according to Buddhist animals.q
Egypt, Greece sign maritime deal to counter Libya-Turkey one

By NOHA ELHENNAWY "This agreement allows Egypt and Greece each With Turkish military support, the Tripoli govern-
Associated Press to move ahead with maximizing their benefits ment has repelled Hifter's 14-month-long military
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt and Greece on Thursday from resources available in this exclusive eco- campaign to capture the Libyan capital. After
signed a maritime deal that sets the sea bound- nomic zone, namely promising oil and gas re- Turkey turned the tide in the Libyan war, Egypt's
ary between the two countries and demar- serves," said Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi threatened a mili-
cates an exclusive economic zone for oil and Shukry after Thursday's brief signing ceremony tary incursion into Libya, leading to concerns of
gas drilling rights. in Cairo. a direct Egyptian-Turkish confrontation.
The deal is a response to a similar agreement He added that "Egyptian-Greek relations have Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias hailed
between Turkey and Libya's Tripoli-based gov- been crucial to maintaining security and sta- the Egypt-Greece deal as as "an exemplary
ernment last year that has spiked tensions in the bility in the East Mediterranean region and for agreement." However, neither minister revealed
East Mediterranean region. The Turkey-Libya countering threats caused by irresponsible poli- any details of the deal.
deal was widely dismissed by Egypt, Cyprus cies that support extremism and terror," a refer- "It is the complete opposite of the illegal, invalid
and Greece as an infringement on their eco- ence to Ankara's support for the Tripoli govern- and legally non-existent memorandum of un-
nomic rights in the oil-rich sea. The European ment. derstanding between Turkey and Tripoli," Den-
Union says it's a violation of intentional law that In Libya's proxy war, Egypt has been on the op- dias added.
threatens stability in the region. posite side from Turkey and has backed the ri- Turkey argues that Greek islands should not be
Greece and Turkey have been at odds for de- val administration based in eastern Libya and included in calculating maritime zones of eco-
cades over sea boundaries but recent discov- the east-based military commander Khalifa nomic interest — a position Greece says violates
eries of natural gas and drilling plans across the Hifter. Cairo claims Turkey is backing extremists international law. Greece has around 6,000 is-
east Mediterranean have exacerbated the dis- on behalf of the U.N.-supported government in lands and smaller islets in the Aegean and Io-
pute. Tripoli. nian Seas, more than 200 of them inhabited.q