Hong Kong Warns Animal Lovers Not To Obstruct Hamster Cull

Hong Kong, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jan, 2022 ) :Hong Kong's government Friday warned local animal lovers not to obstruct its ongoing cull of small animals, a policy triggered when hamsters in a pet shop tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Chinese city adheres to the mainland's strict "zero-Covid" policy, in which even the slightest sign of the virus is stamped out with contact tracing, targeted lockdowns and long quarantines.

The discovery of Covid-positive imported hamsters in the Little Boss pet store saw roughly 2,000 small pet shop mammals -- mostly hamsters, but also rabbits, chinchillas and guinea pigs -- culled as a "precautionary measure", with owners urged to surrender pets purchased after December 22.

But the policy has sparked a backlash, with animal lovers stationing themselves outside the government-run hamster collection facility to dissuade owners from giving up their pets -- a move the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department condemned Friday.

"The AFCD demands them to stop such action immediately and return the hamsters taken away," it said in a statement, adding that police had been notified of the hamster obstructionists.

By late Thursday, the facility said it had received 68 hamsters.