A fire broke out on Tuesday in the pet zone of controversial Chatuchak market – famous for selling exotic pets – and saw animals burnt to death trapped inside their cages
Around 1,000 animals were burnt alive in their cages following a fire in an open-air market in Bangkok, Thailand in the early hours of Tuesday.
The blaze at Chatuchak market saw dogs, cats, rabbits, snakes and birds among other creatures perish as 100 or so shops were also gutted. No people were injured and, according to authorities, the cause of the fire was an electrical short circuit. It took under one hour for officials to bring the fire under control.
The incident renewed calls for the popular market’s pet zone to be closed down amid criticism of poor living conditions the animals experience, including reportedly high instances of disease and death. After an initial inspection, it was found that the fire damaged most of the 118 shops in the pet zone, which covers roughly 1,400 square metres (15,000 square feet).
