Fancy some fried chicken on the road?
Well, you probably wouldn’t want to have it so soon after reading this piece of news.
3,500 Chickens Died from Hot Weather After They Were Stuck in Tuas Second Link for Nearly a Day
Recent traffic jams at the Tuas Checkpoint have resulted in numerous delays…
As well as the deaths of some 3,500 chickens, which died amidst a shocking 18-hour wait.
According to Poultry Merchant’s Association chairman Ong Kian San, the lorry found itself in a state of plateau for an extended period of time – during which 3,500 chickens died.
To make it worse, 2,300 live chicken already fell the previous day.
Apparently, more poultry is believed to have died at the checkpoints on 28 January, but the figures remain unconfirmed.
In addition, a number of ducks also died due to extended confinement.
The incident is stated to have affected 10 chicken slaughterhouses – one of which belongs to Ong.
As for the deceased chickens, they were subsequently disposed of.
“The ones who died (along the journey) were disposed of. They cannot be delivered to retailers,” said Ms Wu Xiao Ting, a spokesperson from Singapore’s Poultry Merchant’s Association.
Death By Heat
Cause wise, it’s believed to have been the sweltering heat which, for lack of a better phrase, did the chickens in.
Or at least, that’s what the relevant personnel in question believe to be the case.
“The congestion has been bad over the last two days… The weather is too hot and the wait is too long, so they died,” Ms Wu said. “The congestion has impacted our business.”
And the director of Poultry importer Toh Thye San Farm concurs.
“From what we saw, it was because of the heat. They died from overheating. We cannot sell the chickens once they die. What we did was we put them aside and reported the incident to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA),” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr K Sasikumar, who delivers fresh fruits and vegetables, had to dispose of some of his vegetables due to the heat.
As they needed to be kept in cool temperatures, the long wait under the stifling sun had caused some of them to go bad.
“The weather was hot most of the way so (some of) the vegetables went bad,” said Mr Sasikumar.
Mishap
According to the chairman of another affected poultry slaughterhouse, Tan Koon Seng, a total of 15 lorries would routinely send chickens to his slaughterhouse.
During normal times, the lorries would start to turn up at around 6:00 a.m., after which the chicken handling processes would be completed by around 5:00 p.m.
Drivers would then be able to pack up and return across the causeway.
However, due to the traffic jams, the first lorry ended up reaching at 9:00 a.m. on 27 January, and the last lorry sometime between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
By then, it was already too late.
The next day, the farm lorries set out to circumvent the situation, by setting out at 9:00 p.m. on the previous night.
But this would turn out to be the wrong move, as the first lorry only managed to reach at 12:00 p.m.
Throughout the ordeal, 30 to 40 per cent of the chickens in each lorry – which can accommodate 3,500 live chickens – died.
Why The Jams?
Over in Malaysia, the state of things has only gone from bad to worse.
On 29 January alone, a record 5,725 new cases were reported.
The death toll is now at 733.
As such, Singapore has had to up-scale its entry process: those who wish to enter Singapore will have to be subjected to Covid-19 testing.
The revelation was unveiled just last week, when Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) stated that COVID-19 antigen rapid testing would be progressively rolled out.
Drivers would be required to test negative before they are allowed entry. These include accompanying passengers and Malaysian cargo drivers.
Because of the sheer number of applicants, as well as the duration needed to perform a swab test, vehicles accumulated – resulting in frantic delays.
It also led to an extended period of time under the scorching hot sun, which evidently contributed towards the untimely demise of these livestock animals.
Here’s hoping that the situation will improve.
Featured Image: goodbishop / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purpose only)
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