Cambodian tourist province bans 'alarming' dog meat trade

FILE PHOTO: Boys who work and live at a landfill dump site outside Siem Reap prepare to burn a dog for their dinner in Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 18, 2015. Picture taken March 18, 2015. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian province popular with tourists has banned the trade and slaughtering of dogs for meat, saying that canines are loyal and capable of protecting property and even serving in the military.

Siem Reap province, home to the ancient Angkor Wat ruins, is the first place to issue such a ban in Cambodia, where an estimated three million dogs a year are slaughtered for meat.