Hong Kong versus hamsters: Is killing our furry friends justified?

By Maximilian Owen-Wong

Following an aggressive zero-COVID policy that puts coronavirus control first and above everything, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) decided in January to cull over 2000 hamsters over concerns of animal to human transmission of COVID-19 following the discovery of eleven hamsters testing positive for the coronavirus. 

The government also ordered thirty four pet shops to be shut down and asked customers who visited the pet shops in December and January to quarantine. The cull targeted hamsters imported into Hong Kong from December 22, 2021 onwards, and new hamster owners were asked to mandatorily turn their pets over to authorities.

Scientists researching from the University of Hong Kong were able to confirm that they found two separate instances of hamster-to-human COVID-19 transmissions involving the Delta variant. They also found the pets already carried the virus outside of Hong Kong before being imported into the city.

However, it is important to note that the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that the risk of animals spreading the coronavirus to humans is low.

Image by Bonnie Kettle, courtesy of Unsplash.

The reaction from the public has been mixed. Thousands of Hong Kong hamster owners have signed online petitions pleading for the government to withdraw their decision to cull the hamsters. Citizens have also been reported to adopt hamsters from pet shops in an attempt to save their furry friends from the cull. Along with the outrage from the public, multiple animal welfare organisations have also condemned the decision to cull the hamsters. A tweet from Animals Asia said that “Animals Asia is shocked and saddened by the culling of thousands of pet hamsters in Hong Kong SAR. There is still no empirical evidence that hamsters can pass Covid-19 on to humans.” The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also stated they were “shocked and concerned”, claiming the AFCD “did not take animal welfare and human-animal bond into consideration.”

Following the announcement of the culling order, professor Nikolaus Osterrieder, a top veterinary scholar in Hong Kong and expressed concerns about the welfare of these animals.He stated, “This is a super harsh measure.” Osterrieder made a point of telling pet owners not to panic, saying the likelihood of pets in the city becoming infected “is very close to zero” because of Hong Kong's zero-COVID policy. He also expressed concerns about pet owners potentially overreacting and dumping their animals in the street, “yes I am absolutely worried [about abandonment]”. 

Thousands of Hong Kong hamster owners have signed online petitions pleading for the government to withdraw their decision to cull the hamsters.

Unfortunately, Osterrider’s fears and concerns came true. Over 100 hamsters were dumped by Hong Kong pet owners in parks, dumpsters, and the streets. Animal welfare volunteers expressed concerns about the countless number of hamsters they found abandoned around Hong Kong. Messages and photos on social media brought light to the problem showing hamsters dumped and alone in different areas. It was found that Hong Kongers were not only dumping pets brought into Hong Kong after the 22nd, but older hamsters that would have been unaffected by the ruling.

HamuClan, a hamster concern group, stated they had taken in more than fifty hamsters since the culling order. Noel Louie, the leader of the group, claimed all the hamsters were healthy and were not a part of the COVID infected batch.

Despite all the controversy, the government has defended its ruling and decision to cull the hamsters. They have also condemned the “irrational attitude” from the public, referring to the negative public sentiment towards the hamster culling and the efforts groups and individuals are making to keep hamsters alive. The Chief Executive’s Office said in a statement that the hamsters concerned were to be “humanely” terminated by the government.

The spread of the coronavirus has called for many drastic measures, rules, and regulations to take place in the city of Hong Kong. Many of these measures have been protested and debated in the past. However, in this instance there are alternatives to culling infected animals. Professor Nikolaus Osterrieder stated he believed animals could be quarantined. Using a biosafety grade 3 facility, infected animals would only experience a small headache and minor weight loss. After a few days, they would be healthy and free to go out into the public again. Additionally, scientific evidence shows that animal to human transmission of the coronavirus is low, questioning the severity of the risk of infected animals. Pet owners all around Hong Kong have spoken on the issue; one man going by Chan said the culling of the hamsters was heartbreaking: “It’s heartbreaking because at the end of the day lives will be lost. But I think it’s hard to decide what is the right or wrong course of action.”