Hunting in Cambodia

From ancient times, the use of the Austroasiatic crossbow as documented from archeological evidence in Angkor Wat reflecting an ancestral practise of hunting.

Thus, Captain Charles P. Snyder, arrived in Cambodia from Manila in March 1928 on board the "Sisiman" loaded with guns and ammunitions to find tigers, panthers, rhinoceros, wild boar, goats.

[6] Illegal poaching became more and more common as the nation fell into civil war and the people were left to fend for themselves while the black market plundered their natural resources.

[9] In May 2017, an Environment Department office in Ratanakkiri province's O’Yadav district was set on fire by villagers unhappy with officials’ efforts to curb poaching and logging.

[11] In 2021, according to the Ministry of Environment, Cambodia deployed 1,200 rangers to guard 75 protected areas and biodiversity corridors covering 7.3 million hectares in 21 provinces across the country.

[12] In March 2022, the direction of the Ministry of Environment in collaboration with WWF and USAID and other development partners, launched a campaign to abolish snaring, trafficking, and the market for bush meat and wildlife products while providing livelihood alternatives for would-be poachers.

[15] The Forestry Law adopted by the Parliament of Cambodia in August 2002 stipulates in article 50 that "it is strictly prohibited to hunt, harm or harass all wildlife, including common, vulnerable and endangered species", in the following time, place and manner: It is even "prohibited to attempt or to commit the following activities against vulnerable and endangered wildlife species", meaning that poachers need not be caught red-handed but only being with weapons in a protected area is already a criminal offence.