Hong Kong euthanizes hamsters for fear of coronavirus transmission

Pandemic Control
Hong Kong euthanizes hamsters for fear of coronavirus transmission

In the course of a corona outbreak, authorities in Hong Kong have ordered the killing of around 2,000 hamsters and other small animals. According to media reports, this was preceded by the case of a pet shop owner who had been diagnosed with the first infection with the Delta variant in Hong Kong for a good three months. The woman’s hamster shop, which the public broadcaster RTHK said had been imported from the Netherlands, tested positive.

As the Hong Kong newspaper “South China Morning Post” and other Hong Kong media reported unanimously, shops and hamster keepers were asked on Tuesday to have their animals euthanized. All hamsters bought after December 22 are affected. Some other small animals in pet shops should also be killed as a precaution.

Hardly any corona cases in Hong Kong last year

All affected animals would be tested for the corona virus, it said. If the test is positive, the owners would have to go into quarantine, as would visitors to the pet shop concerned. The authorities admitted that there was no evidence that pets transmitted Sars-CoV-2 to humans – but they wanted to exercise caution. The South China Morning Post quoted a source as saying there was evidence of animal-to-human transmission.

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There were hardly any corona cases in Hong Kong last year due to the strict entry regulations. Most recently, however, infections with the omicron variant had occurred.

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