Over 1,000 Animals Have Tragically Died in a Huge Fire at Bangkok’s Famous Chatuchak Pet Market

A devastating fire broke out at the Chatuchak Pet Market in Bangkok early yesterday morning (June 11), which destroyed around 118 shops and killed more than 1,000 pet animals.

The pet zone of the Chatuchak Market is a hub for pet shops and ornamental fish, which is divided into 118 stalls with mezzanine storage and caretaker quarters.

According to a Facebook post by Stay in Thailand, firefighters rushed to the scene along with over 10 firetrucks and volunteers from the Poh Teck Tung Foundation, after someone reported the fire at about 4am.

Stay in Thailand wrote, “The fire rapidly spread, engulfing the entire area. Firefighters took more than an hour to control the blaze.”

“A shop employee said that she was sleeping on the mezzanine of the shop when she heard noises from various pets and saw the area filled with smoke, making it hard to breathe. She escaped by jumping out of a window. The shop had rare birds, including cockatoos worth 30,000 baht (RM3,851.04) each.”

The fire is believed to have initially started at the Angel Bird Shop, which oddly sells small breed dogs such as Poodles, Shih Tzus and Pomeranians. The shop owner kept the dogs without employees present and left their fans on at night, suggesting an electrical short circuit as the cause of the fire.

Sadly, the fire resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 animals including ornamental fish, cats, dogs, and exotic animals like swans, birds and monkeys.

The employees sleeping on the mezzanines reported no injuries.

The total financial losses are estimated to be in the millions of baht. The Chatuchak District Office has set up a registration table for shop owners to record their losses, while forensic officers are investigating the cause of the fire.

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Also read: North Korea Bans Citizens from Keeping Pet Dogs as “dogs are only for meat and fur”