- Tens of thousands of chicks inside a crate had to be gassed at Brussels Airport
- They were due to be flown out to the Republic of Congo but flight was cancelled
- But the exporter refused to take the chicks back and they had to be euthanised
Firefighters have gassed tens of thousands of chicks after they were left suffocating inside a baking hot cargo container at an airport.
The 20,000 chicks were due to be flown to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday from Brussels Airport.
But the flight was cancelled and the exporter refused to take the container back, according to Belgian media.
Firefighters based at the airport did not want to carry out the gassing and a team was called in from nearby Zaventum to put the birds out their misery.
The 20,000 chicks were due to be flown to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday from Brussels Airport. Stock image
But the flight was cancelled and the exporter refused to take the container back, according to Belgian media
A spokesman for the Flemish animal welfare authorities, Brigitte Borgmans, said of the chicks had died by Sunday evening.
She added: ‘We sent a vet to the scene and he decided to put them out of their misery.’
But the mass euthanasia was slammed by some Flemish MPs.
Hermes Sanctorum, an animal welfare campaigner, said ‘there’s no difference between Amazon parcels and animals.’
Jelle Engelbosche added: ‘We need to ask why living creatures are exported across the world like economic products.’
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