Last Sunday evening Dierenwelzijn Vlaanderen, the Flemish Animal Welfare Service, requested to gas around 20,000 little chicks at Brussels Airport. Two attempts to export the container to Kinshasa failed and the exporter refused to take back the animals, writes newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.
The container was expected to leave to the Congolese capital on Saturday (5 May), but due to a technical problem with the aircraft the flight was cancelled. A second attempt was made the next day, but without success. The container then remained on the tarmac in full sun.
“On Sunday evening, a number of chicks were already dead, so we suggested the exporter to take back the container, but he refused. We sent a veterinarian on the spot and he decided to shorten their suffering,” said Brigitte Borgmans, the spokesperson for Dierenwelzijn Vlaanderen.
The Brussels Airport fire department refused to perform the task, but the firefighters of Zaventem finally intervened. Dierenwelzijn Vlaanderen has drawn up a report against the exporter for the violation of the animal welfare law.
