Corona Daily 222: New Occupation for Jobless Cambodians

Joel Brinkley, a Pulitzer winning correspondent had written an opinion piece describing his trip to Vietnam. “You don’t have to spend much time in Vietnam before you notice something unusual. You hear no birds singing, no squirrels scrambling up trees or rats scurrying among the garbage. No dogs out for a walk.” He wrote. “Where’d they all go? You might be surprised to know: Most have been eaten.”

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Rat meat is a protein-provider and a delicacy in Vietnam. Rat on a stick (Rat Kebab) is popular. Rat meat can be grilled, curried, fried, boiled in a soup or minced up in a pate. Vietnamese restaurants slaughter live rats, marinate them in garlic, chilies, lemongrass and fish sauce; and then fry or delicately grill them. Some Vietnamese believe rat meat possesses medicinal properties. It can relieve backache when cooked in soup with vegetables and herbs. Those who have tasted it compare the rat meat to pork or rabbit meat.

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Catching rats and exporting them to Vietnam is big business in neighbouring Cambodia. (Somewhat like the UK fleet catching a lot of herring in their own waters, and exporting most of it to Norway and the Netherlands).  Every day, Cambodians catch three tonnes of rats to feed the growing demand in Vietnam. A lot more expensive in Vietnam, a kilo of rat meat would cost $2.50 a kilo there in pre-pandemic times.

The common city rats we are familiar with are dirty, eat all sorts of junk, may have scabies. In Southeast Asia, mostly the Ricefield rats (Rattus argentiventer) are eaten. These rats eat only rice stalks and vegetables. They are perceived as healthier and safer because of their organic diet and free-range lifestyle.

Rat-catching season begins after the rice harvest in June and July, when rats are famished. This lack of food coincides with seasonal rain that brings all the rodents into the open. Hundreds of rat traps are set in the fields. Sometimes electricity is used. A farmer can go to bed and catch 30 kilos of electrocuted rats in the rice field the next morning. However, many customers prefer to buy live rats. That ensures they have not died of pesticides.

Rat-catching serves two purposes for the Cambodians. It keeps the crops safe, and earns revenue from Vietnam.  

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Since March, unemployment in Cambodia has risen dramatically. The Asian Development Bank estimates that out of the 9 million working population, half a million Cambodians have lost jobs. Many of them are now turning to rat-catching as a full-time occupation. In some parts of Cambodia, the number of rat-catchers has doubled. Competition has forced the prices down. Many rat-catchers barely get $1 per kilo.

To make matters worse, borders are closed. Middlemen must bribe the Vietnamese border guards to smuggle rats across a river, in the process risking fines and imprisonment.

Vietnamese are now less enthusiastic about the rodent delicacy. An extensive research conducted before the pandemic found that 20% of traded field rats, 30% of those sold at large markets, and 55% of the field rats sold in the restaurants tested positive for at least one of the six coronaviruses. And this study was conducted before the Covid pandemic.

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As a result of the decade long trade, Cambodians are slowly developing a taste for rat meat. If the pandemic continues to make export to Vietnam difficult, they will finally end up making it a daily staple meal in their own diet.

Ravi