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| "Pet owners should keep a good hygiene practice, including washing hands after touching the animals, handling their food or other items, and avoid kissing the animals," Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department director Leung Siu-fai Leung also told reporters. (Photo by= AFP) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] HONG KONG: Hong Kong ordered a cull of 2,000 hamsters on Tuesday (Jan 18) and warned pet owners not to kiss animals after a new cluster of COVID-19 cases was traced to a pet shop.
The outbreak of Delta variant cases in humans linked to the shop worker prompted tests on hundreds of animals, with 11 hamsters showing up positive. That has brought a pet rodent clampdown on Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, which is following the mainland's zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19 even as much of the world shifts to living with it. The territory's Health Secretary Sophia Chan stressed at a news conference that there was no evidence domestic animals can pass the disease to humans, but authorities were anyway acting out of caution to ban imports and sales of pet rodents.
Hundreds of samples were collected from animals also including rabbits and chinchillas, but only the hamsters have tested positive so far. Leung said about 2,000 hamsters in 34 pet shops and storage facilities would be put down "humanely". Anyone who purchased a hamster after Dec. 22, 2021, should hand them over to authorities for culling and not leave them on the streets, he added. A hotline for COVID-19 inquiries related to hamsters is also being set up.
