BHUBANESWAR: A traditional Indian wedding procession with music, fireworks, dancing and marching brass bands in shiny jackets has been blamed for the deaths of 63 chickens.
Ranjeet Kumar Parida said the party was making an “earring sound” as he was crossing his poultry farm in the eastern state of Odisha shortly before midnight on Sunday.
“I asked the band operators to lower the volume because the music was too noisy and scared the chickens. But they didn’t listen and the groom’s friends started yelling at me,” Parida said.
A vet told Parida that the chickens had died of a heart attack, and she filed a police complaint after the wedding organizers refused to pay compensation.
Zoology professor Suryakant Mishra, who wrote a book on animal behavior, told Hindustan Times That loud noise increases the risk of heart disease in birds.
“Chickens are governed by a circadian rhythm that is controlled by the natural light/dark cycle of day and night.
“Sudden excitement or stress due to loud music can disrupt their biological clock,” Mishra said.
The story had a happy ending – except for the chickens – when the police convinced the warring sides to “resolve the matter mutually”.
Police officer Draupadi Das said, “We have not initiated any action as the (poultry farmer) has withdrawn the complaint.”
Published in Dawn, November 25, 2021