Authorities Burn and Kill This Couple’s 15 Dogs Over COVID-19 Fears
The couple learned the devastating news about the dogs they considered “their children” while quarantining in hospital.
A Vietnamese couple has been left devastated after 16 of their 17 animal companions were put to death by government authorities over COVID-19 fears.
Pham Minh Hung and his wife, Nguyen Thi Chi Em, gained attention on the social media platform Tik Tok just last Friday after clips of the couple on a scooter with their dogs and their belongings piled on went viral.
The couple was making the 300-km long road trip south from their home near Ho Chi Minh City to Ms. Nguyen’s hometown in the province of Ca Mau. Vietnamese audiences found the heartwarming story a comfort as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread relentlessly across the country, with some saying their hearts melted when the couple used raincoats to cover their dogs in the pouring rain.
But just hours after reaching their destination, Mr. Pham and his wife tested positive for Covid and were quarantined in hospital. It was here that they learned the news that 15 of their dogs and their cat were dead, killed by Vietnamese authorities who feared the animals could spread the virus.
"My wife and I cried so much that we couldn't sleep," Pham Minh Hung, a 49-year-old bricklayer told the BBC. "I didn't want to believe that really happened… I couldn't do anything to protect my kids [referring to his dogs]".
It's unclear how the animals were killed. The official police newspaper carried an image indicating they were burned, and Ms. Nguyen says that the animals were drowned first and then burned. “Two men put my dogs in bags, submerged them in water and then threw them in fire to burn,” she told Vice News, citing witnesses.
The killings have ignited outrage in Vietnam, with people calling for greater protections for animals, while a petition calling for humane treatment of animals in Vietnam has gathered more than 150,000 signatures.
“I’ve seen many brutal things happen in Vietnam since I was a kid, but this one is definitely the most terrible,” Thao Nguyen, a member of the 48,000-strong Niềm tin Sài Gòn Facebook group that has rallied around the cause, told VICE World News. “Many people who have pets are fighting because they don't want the government to burn their pets in the future if they get COVID-19.”
Authorities are standing by their decision, citing the killing as a “preventative” measure.
"Disease control must be prioritised in the first place and the decision to kill the animals immediately was a necessary preventive measure," local official Tran Tan Cong said during a press conference on Sunday.
Nguyen Hong Vu, a staff scientist of the City of Hope National Medical Centre in the U.S. has called the killings "unethical" and "ridiculous”.
"There are no scientific evidence dogs and cats can be an intermediary for the transmission of Covid to humans. However, people with Covid can sometimes infect them," Dr. Nguyen said. "There are multiple ways to make it right in this situation, such as quarantining them in a cage; contacting the owners' relatives, or engaging a social organisation to take care of them until the owners recover."
Mr. Pham is determined to hold authorities accountable: " I raised my kids for about six years, I definitely want justice for my kids," he said from the hospital. “I expect the government to introduce more animal rights. I am going to get more dogs, and I hope there is going to be something to protect them. They killed my kids and I could do nothing about it.”
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The footage was reportedly recorded at Marshall BioResources in North Rose, New York, where up to 22,000 dogs - mostly beagles - are being bred for animal experimentation.