Belgaum, March 12: As the Coronavirus cases in India touch 73, the misinformation for COVID-19 is also spreading rapidly. In the latest, a poultry farmer in Karnataka buried a truckload of chickens over the deadly virus fears. The farmer loaded around 6,000 chickens and dumped them in a large pit in Nulsoor in Belagavi's Gokak taluk. The video of the incident is going viral on the internet. Coronavirus Outbreak: Free Chicken Mela To Be Organised in Gorakhpur to Dispel COVID-19 Rumours.

A Twitter user shared the shocking video with the caption, "a dejected farmer Nazeer Makandar from Lolasoora village in Gokak, Belagavi decided to bury #chicken from his #poultry farm, following steep fall in price due to #CoronavirusOutbreak." Coronavirus Scare in India: Telangana Ministers Eat Chicken on Stage to Dispel COVID-19 Fears.

Karnataka Farmer Buries Chickens Alive: 

A dejected farmer Nazeer Makandar from Lolasoora village in #Gokak, #Belagavi decided to bury #chicken from his #poultry farm, following steep fall in price due to #CoronavirusOutbreak. @DeccanHerald @CMofKarnataka @mani1972ias #Coronavid19

Nazeer Makandar pic.twitter.com/OExEPM39ay

— Niranjan Kaggere (@nkaggere) March 10, 2020

In the clip, the farmer can be seen burying chickens alive in a pit. According to Times of India, the farmer, Najeer Ahmed Makandar, had spent Rs 6 lakh to rear the chickens. However, he was facing huge losses due to COVID-19 outbreak. He said that the live chickens were earlier sold for Rs 50 to Rs 70 per kg but currently, the prevailing price is Rs 5 to Rs 10. Bird Flu in Kerala: Poultry Birds in Parts of Kozhikode to Be Killed and Burnt to Prevent Spread of Influenza.

Reacting to the development, many Twitterati shared their angry reactions. "Why bury!? Just leave them," a user wrote. Another said, "Why did he bury them alive , he could have left them out , they too have life , people will be suffering from many disease like this until they stop killing animals."

Why bury!? Just leave them

— Abrar_Łampard (@Lampard_Abrar) March 10, 2020

Why did he bury them alive , he could have left them out , they too have life , people will be suffering from many disease like this until they stop killing animals

— Rajesh S (@d020531e657c4d6) March 11, 2020

He could have given it to poor and needy for free??????????

— Riddhi Sengupta (@sengupta_riddhi) March 10, 2020

End of humanity. You can't just bury them alive on the basis of a rumour.

— Roshni Singha (@bhtdikkathai) March 11, 2020

This is madness. We tend to use the nature’s givings and when the time comes, we show no mercy in destroying it. Atleast these birds cpuld have been given some anaesthetics to kill them off. Burying something alive is not solution to any problem.

— Deepanshu Malhotra (@daddydeep7) March 11, 2020

In Bangarapet too, nearly 9,500 chickens were buried alive due to fall in prices. In this case, the farm owner Satish cited losses of Rs 20,000 to justify his actions.

The poultry industry has been hit hard amid COVID-19 rumours that the virus can be transmitted through consumption of chicken. The Union Ministry of Animal Husbandry, however, has clarified that consumption of cooked meat is safe.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 12, 2020 04:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).