AFCD Humane Handling of Hamsters in All Pet Shops in Hong Kong How many hamsters are currently kept by Hong Kong people?

The Centre for Health Protection announced today (18th) that a 23-year-old female clerk and a customer of Little Boss Pet Shop in Causeway Bay were diagnosed with COVID-19. The hamster samples in the store and environmental samples from Tai Po warehouse tested positive for COVID-19.

Since the store involved also exported hamsters to 15 retail stores, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department will "humanely handle" hamsters in pet stores in Hong Kong, and recommends that citizens who have bought hamsters after December 22 should also hand over their hamsters.

How many people in Hong Kong keep hamsters?

Where are these hamsters mainly imported from?

From now on, pet stores selling hamsters in Hong Kong will be temporarily closed, and the hamsters in the stores will be checked out for testing and "humane treatment", involving more than a thousand hamsters and small animals.

According to the latest survey on keeping animals by the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong people keep a total of 38,000 hamsters.

Netizens in the discussion area reacted violently to the measures, referring to "humane treatment" without a real risk of contamination, causing harm to animals.

The two batches of hamsters in the Tai Po warehouse belonging to the pet store involved were all from the Netherlands. However, the CHP pointed out that at present, it is not certain that the virus is transmitted from hamsters to humans, or from humans to hamsters, but it is certain that hamster groups can infect each other. Details Still under investigation.

According to the information of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the main imported hamsters in Hong Kong are from the Netherlands, followed by Canada and the United States.

The import of hamsters, chinchillas, guinea pigs and other small mammals is now stopped.