Hong Kong hamsters being rescued in defiance of Covid cull order

[HONG KONG] Protecting hamsters is turning into the latest form of protest in Hong Kong, after the government announced a plan to cull thousands of the furry pets and other small mammals to stamp out Covid-19 cases.

The Hong Kong government advised members of the public earlier this week to surrender hamsters purchased on or after Dec 22 for "humane dispatch," after some pet store workers and customers tested positive for the virus and hamsters imported from the Netherlands at the store tested preliminary positive.

The government said on Wednesday that 1,213 small animals have been culled from the pet store in question and its warehouse, including hamsters, rabbits, and guinea pigs.

In response, pet owners have formed rescue networks, with people coming together on social media networks such as Facebook and Telegram groups.

Some are offering to adopt creatures from pet owners who fear that the government will track them down and force them to give up their pets.

Others posted photos of their furry pets, swapped tips for hamster care and offered to donate feed and cages.

And amid the rapidly shrinking space for free speech and dissent in a city where resentment toward the strict Covid-zero policy is growing, some of those spaces have even taken on political overtones.

The banner on one Facebook group with 14,000 members, for example, depicts hamsters dressed in protest gear reminiscent of the 2019 unrest that rocked the city, while entry to the group requires joiners answer a question linked to a key date of the protests.

The Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department on Friday condemned efforts to interfere with the surrender of hamsters.

As of Jan 20, 68 hamsters have been received, it said in a statement. Some volunteers were seen convincing pet owners who were turning over their hamsters to the AFCD to change their minds, according to local media reports.

The government said it "deplored" these actions and has reported the incidents to the police. Animal rights groups have decried the government's actions, while City University of Hong Kong experts said that the risk of getting Covid-19 from pets is "negligible."

Government officials however, say that they are growing increasingly confident that pet hamsters are spreading Covid in the city based on genome sequencing.

BLOOMBERG