犬の食肉処理場を閉鎖、２５年で１００万匹超を処理　カンボジア

【スクンＡＦＰ＝時事】犬肉の取引禁止を強化しているカンボジアで4日、これまでに100万匹以上を処理してきた食肉処理場が閉鎖された。（写真はカンボジア中部スクンで、食肉処理場の犬を保護する動物愛護団体「フォー・ポーズ」のメンバー）
　首都プノンペンには犬肉を扱う飲食店が１００軒以上あるが、生肉はすべて、今回閉鎖された食肉処理場で処理されてきた。
　同処理場の経営者、オック・モル氏（５０）はＡＦＰに対し、今後は犬肉の処理をしないと語った。
　オック・モル氏は、１９９５年の開業以来、事業は順調で、２５年間で１００万匹以上を処理してきたと説明。
　さらに、「自分も年を取り、犬肉の取引を大勢に批判されているので、廃業したい」と語った。「恥ずかしく思う」
　動物愛護団体「フォー・ポーズ」の推計によると、カンボジアでは年間２００万～３００万匹が食肉処理されている。
　フォー・ポーズ側が、食料品店の開業資金を援助すると申し出たことで、オック・モル氏と家族は廃業を決断した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/03/05-10:54）

A notorious slaughterhouse in Cambodia that has killed more than a million dogs was closed on Thursday as the country steps up efforts to end the trade in their meat.
Between two and three million dogs are slaughtered annually in Cambodia, according to estimates by animal rights group Four Paws, and there are more than 100 dog meat restaurants in the capital Phnom Penh.
A single slaughterhouse about an hour and a half outside the capital is responsible for all the raw meat supply in the city, but operator Ouk Mol has told AFP he will no longer be killing dogs.
Since he started his enterprise in 1995, business has been brisk for the 50-year-old former soldier, who said he had slaughtered over a million dogs in 25 years.
But I want to quit the business because I am getting old and a lot of people have criticised me about the dog meat trade, Ouk Mol said.
I feel ashamed.
Equipped with cages to hold the dogs, two large vats to drown them, scales, and blowtorches for removing fur, the facility slaughtered up to 200 dogs a day.
On Thursday, the day of its closure, 16 dogs were still caged there and were sent by activists to an animal charity for rehabilitation.
The dogs will be offered for adoption abroad.
The operator and his family decided to quit the trade after campaigners from Four Paws offered them financial support to open a grocery store.
Ouk Mol's wife Sao Phally is glad that they have found a way out.
We were always worried about sin because of our killing. People looked at us in a bad way, Sao Phally told AFP.
The Cambodian tourist city of Siem Reap last year banned the dog meat trade, in a big victory for animal rights campaigners who describe the area as the lynchpin of the industry.
Dog meat, a cheap source of protein, is eaten in several Asian countries and is more popular in neighbouring Vietnam than Cambodia.