Mass hamster cull in Hong Kong after positive Covid tests at pet shop
More than 11,000 people have signed a petition calling on Hong Kong authorities stop culling hamsters after several of the rodents tested positive for coronavirus at a pet store.
The animals were being kept at Little Boss pet store where an infected employee was working, suggesting there is evidence of the first possible animal-to-human transmission of Covid-19 in the city.
Authorities ordered about 2,000 small animals at the shop to be culled.
The city will also stop the sale of hamsters and the import of small mammals, according to officials from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.
The move came after the pet shop employee tested positive for the Delta variant on Monday.
Several hamsters imported from the Netherlands at the same store tested positive as well.
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“If you own a hamster, you should keep your hamsters at home, do not take them out,” said department director Leung Siu-fai at a news conference.
“All pet owners should observe good personal hygiene, and after you have been in contact with animals and their food, you should wash your hands. Do not kiss your pets.”
Even though authorities acknowledged there is “no evidence” that pets can transmit the coronavirus to humans, as a precautionary measure, customers who had purchased hamsters from the affected store after January 7 will be traced and subject to mandatory quarantine.
They must also hand over their hamsters to authorities to be put down.
A change.org petition entitled “Stop the Government from Wrongfully Euthanising Little Boss’ Small Pets” called for the animals to be quarantined and isolated rather than "killed off mercilessly".
The petition read: "Every pet owner knows that their pet’s lives are just as important as their own, yet the Hong Kong government fails to see that they, the very upholders of law, are on the dangerous path to the murders of many lives that are barely any different to ours."
It added: "A pet is an owner’s best friend, and due to the government’s orders, thousands of people could unjustifiably lose their dearest companions."
Hong Kong authorities said all pet stores selling hamsters in Hong Kong must cease operations and around 2,000 small mammals, including hamsters and chinchillas, will be culled in a humane manner.
Customers who bought hamsters in Hong Kong from December 22 will also be subject to mandatory testing and are urged not to go into the community until their tests have returned negative.
If their hamsters test positive, they will be subject to quarantine.
For now, authorities said they would not rule out transmission between human and animals.
Separately, Hong Kong police arrested two former flight attendants for allegedly leaving their homes when they should have been in isolation for possible coronavirus infections, which were later confirmed.
The two arrived from the US on December 24 and 25. While in medical surveillance, they had “conducted unnecessary activities”, according to a government statement.
While the statement did not name their employer, the arrests came after flagship carrier Cathay Pacific said it had fired two crew members for breaching coronavirus protocols. Both later tested positive for the Omicron variant.