Thai YouTuber probed over video of chicken buried alive and fed coconut milk for juicier meat

A criminal complaint has been lodged against a popular Thai YouTuber who posted a video depicting a chicken being buried alive up to its neck for two weeks and fed only coconut milk before getting grilled — all in the quest for tender, juicy meat. 

Coconuts Bangkok reported that the police are conducting investigations following a cruelty complaint filed by animal rights organisation Watchdog Thailand over the video, which was posted on Monday (Aug 10). 

The video by Sahawat Chopchingchai — a YouTuber with over 3.56 million subscribers on his channel — has since been taken down. Before it was removed, viewers witnessed the immobile chicken being fed coconut milk through a dropper a few times a day. This method, he described in the video, results in sweeter, softer meat when cooked. 

After a period of time, the still-alive chicken was taken out from the ground, and according to a picture posted by Watchdog Thailand, its feathers had changed colour and appeared to be moulted. The chicken was purportedly killed, grilled and eaten on camera by Sahawat and a few other people. 

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/WDT.foundation/photos/a.1764892440317955/1764893583651174[/embed]

Sahawat has since deleted the video after facing massive backlash from his viewers, apologising for making “many people feel uncomfortable”. He also claimed that the grilled chicken eaten on camera was not the one that was buried alive — which he now says was only placed underground for five minutes and is still alive. 

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/Mommtanaddak/videos/439610023657009[/embed]

He also posted a follow-up video of the chicken that he claims to be the one filmed on camera. Affirming that he only wanted to showcase a traditional cooking technique in the rural Maefak community in Chiang Mai, Sahawat said that he’s “not that cruel”. He also reposted a CH3Thailand News segment that featured his explanation about the affair. 

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/Mommtanaddak/posts/2877242779165925[/embed]

As Coconuts Bangkok noted, Watchdog Thailand has not backed down and is awaiting the results of the police investigation. 

ilyas@asiaone.com