CATTLE HUSTLE

Live cattle are part of the bustling border trade in the Mekong region, relying on smuggling channels to deliver meat to consumers' plates. But this comes at the cost of public health and threatens the entire meat supply chain.

Across the porous borders of the Mekong region – which covers southern China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam – thousands of cattle are moved daily to meet the growing demand for meat in China as well as in local markets.

This cross-border trade, sustained by extensive networks of smallholder farmers, brokers, and authorities, has been a lifeline for many and provided local consumers with food security.

However, the lucrative nature of this trade has led to live animal smuggling, bypassing crucial vaccination and disease control measures. This activity is surging in the shadow of Myanmar’s war and China’s tightened border controls along the Mekong.

The illegal trade not only impacts local farmers, who struggle to compete with the low prices of smuggled cattle, but also threatens human health and food safety, as some cattle diseases can be transmitted to humans and cause significant economic losses.