Aussie woman arrested in Thailand for ‘cruelty to animals’
A 28-year-old Australian woman was arrested for ‘failing to comply with the Humane Treatment of Animals Act’ in Thailand, according to the animal welfare organisation Animal Legal Defence, which is fighting the charges.
The woman was in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday and was allegedly involved in a ‘crucial’ rescue of a bull that had been injured, Animal Legal Defense said in a statement.
A video posted on YouTube showed a woman carrying the injured bull and holding it close to her body as it lay on a stretcher.
A vet had been told to keep the bull in a cage, but she refused, according the statement.
‘She was told by a vet that if she did not comply with these orders, the animal would die,’ Animal Legal said.
The bull’s owner, who was in the market, noticed the bull was in distress and contacted the police.
A rescue team arrived and took the bull to a vet.
The vet said it would take at least 48 hours for the animal to heal, Animal Rights said.
‘Animal rights activists have been holding protests outside the police station to demand an investigation into this case, which they say is a case of cruelty to animals,’ the organisation said.
Animal Rights said the bull had been kept in a “crucial” cage, with no access to food, water or oxygen.
The organization said the animal had suffered extensive damage to its paws and the eyes and was being fed only by a straw.
Animal Rights also alleged that the woman had previously given birth to a baby bull in the same cage.
The organisation said the incident was ‘a serious blow’ to the ‘relatively well-off’ Thai economy.
The woman was being held on an international arrest warrant.
A spokesperson for Thailand’s animal welfare department said the woman was released from custody on Saturday.
A 28-year-old Australian woman was arrested for ‘failing to comply with the Humane Treatment of Animals Act’ in Thailand, according…
