Statement re Bangkok Governor’s Decision to Close Chatuchak Pet Market After Tragic Fire

France24 Thailand correspondent Matt Hunt posted the following on X: “Today, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt invited me to work. En route, I asked him for clarification on the matter of 1,000 animals burning in a fire at Chatuchak Market earlier this month. He said, with certainty, that the pet market will not be reopened.”

Below, please find a statement from PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker regarding the governor’s decision:

PETA hopes that the governor’s proclamation is true, although it shouldn’t take the death of thousands of animals for the government to take action. Anyone who saw this market knows it was a pit of suffering. We urge anyone who is considering buying from a live-animal market or pet store to recognise the hell the animals endure and adopt a companion from a shelter instead. We praise the governor for his efforts, and he’s already in the running for our Person of the Year.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAAsia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.