By Gaurav Raghuvanshi
SINGAPORE-- Singapore Airlines Ltd. said it was helping local
authorities investigate the death of 174 sheep on a cargo flight
from Perth last week.
The deaths occurred on Oct. 2 on a Boeing Co. 747 freighter jet
carrying 2,000 sheep to Singapore for ritual slaughter during last
weekend's Muslim festival of Hari Raya Haji.
Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said initial
findings point to heat stress as the cause of the deaths.
"The consignment was handled strictly according to the
International Air Transport Association's procedures for the
carriage of livestock," a Singapore Airlines spokesman said
Wednesday, describing the incident as "unfortunate."
Singapore Mosques Korban Committee, which imported 2,200 sheep
from Australia and 1,700 lambs from Ireland for this year's
festival, said there was no indication of any infectious disease
and the surviving animals on the flight had cleared quarantine
inspection.
Write to Gaurav Raghuvanshi at gaurav.raghuvanshi@wsj.com
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