Photos and CCTV footage of a woman with a ski mask and dressed in black throwing five bags – each containing a cat – over the wall and into Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram, or Wat Pho Temple, in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district went viral on the internet, sparking heavy criticism from netizens and earning her a fine.
The woman, who is a Samut Prakarn local, turned herself in on Monday, reportedly admitting that she was the one in the photo. She said she could no longer raise the cats due to her allergic reaction to their hair. Police charged her with abandoning pets in violation of the Cruelty Prevention and Welfare of Animal Act. The woman was allowed to go home after paying a fine. Staff at Wat Pho told the press that all five cats were fine and the temple would take care of them, including getting the felines neutered.
They urged pet owners who cannot afford to keep their animals to pass on the unfortunate creatures to shelters and/or to adopters.
Woman fined for throwing five cats over wall into Wat Pho