After 11 hamsters tested positive for COVID in Hong Kong, the authorities ordered a mass slaughter of these rodents on Tuesday.
A human infection linked to a pet store led to screening of hundreds of animals in the special administrative region of China.
Assessment yielded positive results in 11 hamsters, confirmed the health authorities cited by the Reuters agency.
As a result of the discovery in the Causeway Bay district, the demarcation ordered the slaughter of at least 2, of these mammals, as well such as the interruption in the sale and importation of animals.
As part of the measures imposed, several pet sales centers were closed in the area and disinfected.
However, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) repudiated the action of the government authorities and asked to reevaluate the decision
“The SPCA is shocked and outraged by the Government’s recent announcement to kill more than 2,000 of these small animals that did not take into account their well-being and the relationship with humans into consideration”, indicated the entity.
The Secretary of Health, Sophia Chan, declared in a press conference that the authorities acted with caution despite the fact that there is not enough evidence to measure the extent to which domestic animals can infect humans.
“The owners of pets must maintain good hygiene practices, including washing their hands after touching animals, giving them food or other items, and avoiding kissing animals”, indicated, for his part, the director of the Department of Conservation, Fisheries and Agriculture, Siu-fai Leung.
The controversy for the euthanasia of hamsters emerged after cases of coronavirus emerged in an employee and a client nt of the Little Boss store. On Monday, a 23 year old worker had a confirmed positive diagnosis of the Delta variant. Later, a customer who visited the store and interacted with the employee also became infected.
After investigating the store, officials reported yesterday that 11 rodents tested positive for COVID, which increased concern about transmission between animals and humans.
Entities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have indicated that the risk of transmission of animals to humans possible, but very low.
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