The Livestock Department said Friday it is investigating an animal quarantine facility in southern Songkhla province after nearly 4,000 chickens were buried alive there.
Footage through the media shows thousands of chickens at a facility in the Hat Yai district dumped into a muddy put. That’s when the pit is filled with soil, killing all the chickens — drowned, dead or alive.
The birds were reportedly smuggled from Padang Besar, a border town of Malaysia, and found inside several trucks Tuesday.
The incident sparked debate from those criticizing it as animal cruelty to others who said the authorities did “the right thing.”
“Do you want a dangerous disease in our country? What would you do? The officers did their jobs to protect people’s lives,” Facebook user Nisa Scutt wrote. “This world needs a people ready to make such sacrifices.”
Animal activist Roger Lohanan, founder of Thai Animal Guardians Association, said the drivers who smuggled in the chickens should be punished under the cruelty prevention and animal welfare act, while the authorities responsible for the incident should “explain to society” what happened.
According to guidelines announced by the livestock department, its officers are required to perform euthanasia on animals by “using chemicals, shooting them by firearms or shocking them with electricity”
“If the officers use a management method that caused the animals to suffer, they should be charged with animal cruelty too,” Roger said.
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