Aspate of dog thefts in sangkat Khmuonh, in Russey Keo district, has forced residents

to chain their pets up in order to keep them off the menu.

At least a hundred canines have disappeared recently, said local officials. The dogs

are believed to be stolen to satisfy the appetites of dog-meat enthusiasts.

Yim Davuth, deputy police chief of sangkat Khmuonh said dog thefts happen throughout

his sangkat and around the country, but a group of villages known as Sen Sok seems

to be hit the hardest.

Davuth said the dogs in the Sen Sok community were being stolen to supply meat for

customers in the community, but there is no established shop or restaurant specializing

in dog meat, as in other areas.

"Just Sen Sok community alone gives us a headache," said Davuth, adding

that his 17 officers were not enough to control the 13 villages of sangkat Khmuonh.

"The thieves start stealing at 11 p.m. when the lights go off."

Thorn Thay, a 40-year-old resident of Sen Sok 3, said two of his dogs were stolen

recently, one just before dawn and the other in broad daylight while he wasn't home.

When Thay went to his village chief to complain about the thefts, the official replied

that he did not know how to deal with the case because "even his dog was stolen."

San Sokha, the chief of Sen Sok community, said residents were afraid of the dog

thieves because they are said to carry Samurai swords.

"We cannot crack down on them with a few people," Sokha said. "Only

police can crack down on them."

The Sen Sok community consists mostly of people relocated from the Meanchhey and

Chamkar Morn districts of Phnom Penh after their homes were destroyed by fires in

2001.

Nounn Sopheak, 26, a villager in Sen Sok 3, said he began chaining up his two dogs

after another two dogs were stolen three months ago.

Sopheak said he suspected thieves used baits to trap the dogs.

The cost of one dog ranges from 30,000 riel ($7.50) to 60,000 riel ($15), said Sen

Sok villagers.

"If the dog is still alive, it is more expensive than a dead one," said

Thorn Thay.