A wedding DJ in Uttar Pradesh, India, faces police charges after loud music allegedly killed approximately 140 chickens [1].
The incident highlights the potential for extreme noise pollution to cause fatal stress in livestock, raising questions about local noise ordinances during celebrations.
The deaths occurred on the night of April 25, 2026 [1], in the Sultanpur district [3]. The poultry farm is located near the village of Ram Bhadra Purva in the Kudwar area [5]. According to the farm owner, the loud bass from a wedding procession for the daughter of Babban Vishwakarma passed nearby and triggered a mass panic among the birds [1, 2].
"The noise was so intense that the chickens got frightened and died," the poultry farmer said [2].
While some reports suggest 100 birds died, other records indicate the number was 140 [1, 4]. The farmer filed a formal complaint with local authorities, alleging that the volume of the music was the direct cause of the loss. Police officials responded by initiating a legal case against the DJ for the deaths of the livestock.
"We have registered a case against the DJ for causing the death of the chickens," police officials said [6].
This is not the first time that noise pollution has been linked to livestock distress in the region. The case now rests with the Sultanpur police to determine if the DJ violated noise regulations or displayed negligence that led to the financial loss of the farm owner [3, 5].
“"The noise was so intense that the chickens got frightened and died."”
This incident underscores the vulnerability of poultry to acute acoustic stress, which can trigger cardiac arrest or fatal panic in flocks. Legally, it sets a precedent for livestock owners to seek damages from event organizers for noise-induced losses, potentially leading to stricter enforcement of decibel limits for mobile DJ units in rural and semi-rural areas of India.
