DHAKA — Hundreds of animals have died in Dhaka’s biggest pet market after stores were forced to close during Bangladesh’s coronavirus lockdown, leaving owners desperate and rights activists angry.
“We need to keep the doors open so the animals don’t suffocate,” shop owner Mohammad Polash explained to AFP.
About 400 birds and dozens of dogs, cats, rabbits, rats and guinea pigs have died since the market shut on July 1, according to Rahman Shikder, a spokesman for the Katabon market’s store owners association.
“At least 20 percent of our animals have died,” he added.
After the deaths made national headlines, the government on Wednesday ordered police to let the p…
Keep on reading: Lockdown deaths of animals in Bangladesh pet shops spark outcry