Thousands of people have offered to adopt unwanted hamsters amid a public outcry against the government and its pandemic advisers who ordered the cull.
Hong Kong police will deal with pet lovers who try to stop hamsters being put down authorities say, after they ordered a cull of the cuddly rodents to curb COVID-19.Officials said they found 11 hamsters, all from the Netherlands, which had COVID-19On Tuesday, officials ordered the killing of about 2,000 hamsters from dozens of pet shops after tracing a coronavirus outbreak to a worker at a shop, where 11 hamsters later tested positive for COVID-19.
"If the people concerned continue with such action, or fail to return the hamsters taken away, the AFCD will stringently follow up and hand it over to the police for handling," said the department, which has also advised people not to kiss pets.The government has said the animals are being humanely dispatched and called on all sectors of society to unite to fight the spread of coronavirus.
Around the world, there have been coronavirus cases in various animals including dogs and cats, though scientists have said there is no evidence animals play a major role in human contagion with the coronavirus.Unlike many other cities, Hong Kong has maintained a "zero COVID" strategy focused on eliminating the disease, with schools and gyms shut, restaurants closing at 6pm and air travel with many major hubs severed or severely disrupted.