PHNOM PENH, Cambodia-
Dogs have been banned from Cambodia’s Angkor temples, the country’s most popular tourist destination, in the latest effort to make to make the historic site friendlier to visitors, officials said.
A number of tourists had complained that they were disturbed by dogs during their tour of Angkor temples, said Sou Phirin, governor of Siem Reap, the province where the temples are located.
“Some tourists got scared when they bumped into dogs while enjoying the temples, and some were unhappy after they stepped into dog excrement,” the governor said by phone.
There have been no reports of dog bites to tourists, however.
“No Dogs” signs will soon be placed at main entrances into the Angkor archaeological parks, starting with Angkor Wat, Cambodia’s most famous cultural icon, which earns millions of dollars in tourist revenue every year for the cash-strapped Cambodian government, said the governor.
Col. Tan Chay, police chief in charge of the Angkor Wat site, said he has already started telling villagers living near the temple to stop letting their dogs roam freely onto its grounds.
He added that cows and buffalos have been banned from grazing in the fields near the temple since 1999.
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