A Takeo province rice field strewn with poison to deal with a recurring rat problem led to the deaths of 10 cows when they were brought from neighbouring Kampot to graze, police said yesterday.

The cattle’s owner, unaware the field had been laced with the poison, brought the cows over to graze on Friday, according to Korng Chanvathana, deputy police chief in Kampot’s Tnort Chong Srang commune.

Six of the cows died that same day, while four expired the next, he said. An additional 11 cows recovered.

Chanvathana said the cattle owner filed a complaint with police against the Vietnamese workers hired to manage the field, but no action has been taken.

Meng Sarun, Prey Romdeng commune police chief in Takeo’s Kiri Vong district, said he hadn’t received a report.