Thousands of people in Hong Kong volunteered to adopt unwanted hamsters after authorities ordered the culling of 2,000 hamsters from dozens of pet shops and storage facilities after tracing the coronavirus outbreak to a worker in the store of Little Boss animals, where 11 hamsters subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.
Scientists from around the world and Hong Kong health and veterinary authorities have said there is no evidence that animals play an important role in human contagion with the coronavirus. But having pursued a zero tolerance policy for Covid-19, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said she cannot rule out any possibility of transmission and therefore the government cannot take any chances. Soon after, health workers in fireproof coveralls were seen exiting the town’s pet shops carrying red plastic bags in their vans. About 150 pet shop customers were quarantined.
This situation has generated fears that panicked owners will abandon their pets and in fact there are already such cases: public broadcaster RTHK said some hamster owners have been seen delivering their pets. in a government facility in the New Territories. This is another reason why groups quickly formed on social media to identify new owners for unwanted pet rodents. Ocean, 29, a hamster owner and administrator of “HongKong the Cute Hamster Group” on Telegram’s social media app, said the group has been contacted by nearly 3,000 people willing to care for unwanted pet rodents.
Three young people were pressured by their families to get rid of their hamsters even though they had them for more than six months already, said Ocean, who refused to give her surname fearing angry reactions from those who advocate culling. “Many pet owners are unfamiliar with the exact risks and give up on their hamsters,” he said. Bowie, 27, one of the people volunteered in the group and now the owner of two new hamsters. “This is ridiculous – explains the 27-year-old who already owned three other hamsters -. Animal life is also life. Today it can be a hamster or a rabbit, tomorrow it can be a cat or a dog ».
A local organization that runs veterinary clinics told Reuters that “numerous” pet owners have contacted them concerned for advice: “We urge pet owners not to panic or abandon their pets.” the organization said explaining ways to maintain strict personal hygiene for the safety of humans and animals, including never kissing them, coughing or sniffing around pets, and washing hands after handling them.
In addition to ordering the culling, the authorities have called for the closure of dozens of pet shops, while imports and sales of small mammals have been suspended. The owners of hamsters purchased after December 22, 2021 were asked to hand them over to the authorities for culling and not to leave them on the street.
Authorities have set up an inquiry hotline, but it is unclear how many hamsters were delivered. Vanessa Barrs, a professor of pet health at City University of Hong Kong, said the decision to cull the hamsters for sale may be justified on public health protection grounds, but fears of infection in the home are exaggerated: “Millions of people around the world have pets and there have been no cases of animals transmitting infections to other humans,” Barrs said. The theoretical risk is there, but it simply does not happen ».
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