Hong Kong will end a year-long ban on hamster imports as the region rolls back its strict COVID-19 policies.
“Our staff will be responsible for collecting samples from hamsters and other small mammals for COVID-19 testing,” a spokesman for the city’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) told the BBC. “They can only be sold if the test results are negative.”
Hong Kong has banned the importation of hamsters after authorities traced an outbreak of the Delta variant last year to a pet store employee. Authorities found that 11 hamsters imported from the Netherlands carried the virus, prompting around 2,000 animals to be euthanized to stop the spread of the virus amid fears of animal-to-human transmission.
Studies found that rodents, including minks and hamsters, could carry the coronavirus. Six countries, including the US, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Spain and Sweden, noted the presence of the virus among mink populations, leading to the culling of hundreds of thousands of mink in 2020.
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Denmark, the world’s largest mink fur producer, had to cull 17 million mink in November 2020 alone.
Hamsters for sale at a street market in Bandung, Indonesia, on October 31, 2021.
(Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
Vanessa Barrs, a professor of companion animal health at City University of Hong Kong, told the BBC that subsequent tests confirmed the virus had transferred from hamsters to humans, forcing the government to act. “out of an abundance of caution at the time.” “
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A petition at the time failed to deter the government from continuing the slaughter, sparking outrage among animal lovers and many local residents.
Officers in protective suits leave a closed pet store after a hamster was ordered to be euthanized to curb the COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong on January 19, 2022.
(Reuters/Lam Yik/File)
A pet store owner noted that the lack of hamsters hit sales hard as the animals are incredibly popular with children.
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Hamsters made up about 20% of the store’s revenue, and the merchant revealed that he already had a list of about a dozen people, mostly children, who were already looking to buy hamsters as soon as they became available.
Officers in protective suits enter a closed pet shop after a hamster was ordered to be euthanized to curb the COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong on January 19, 2022.
(Reuters/Lam Yik/File)
The latest risk assessment issued on Thursday determined that the commercial importation of hamsters would be acceptable and should start in mid-January.
Hong Kong, while part of China, has a unique status as a “special administrative region,” one of two, along with Macao, that allow the highest degree of autonomy within China and for regions to set their own restrictions related to COVID-19. 19
Hong Kong removed almost all COVID-related restrictions last month following a similar decision in mainland China. Beijing’s “zero COVID” policy might have seemed like a light touch compared to Hong Kong’s restrictions, which included a seven-hour airport check for returning residents and rigorous follow-up checks for tests.
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But with the reversal of the strict measures, Hong Kong has seen its death rate soar, reaching a weekly average of around nine deaths per million, a rate almost six times that of the US, according to Quartz.
Reuters contributed to this report.
