Authorities in Hong Kong said on Tuesday that they will put approximately 2,000 small animals, including hamsters, to death after many of them tested positive for COVID-19 at a pet store in which one employee was also found to have contracted the virus.
In addition, the city will ban the sale of hamsters and the importation of small mammals, per officials from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. The shop employee and several hamsters that were imported from the Netherlands tested positive for the delta variant.
While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says animals do not play a significant role in the spread of coronavirus, Hong Kong government officials maintained they will not dismiss the threat of transmission between humans and animals.
“We cannot exclude the possibility that the shopkeeper was in fact actually infected from the hamsters,” said Edwin Tsui, a controller at the Center for Health Protection.
While evidence suggests the virus began with an initial transmission from animals to humans, subsequently, animal-to-human infection has not been a factor in what has been classified a pandemic.
Thus far, minks are the only recorded animals to have contracted the virus from humans and then spread it back, according to Dr. Scott Weese at Ontario Veterinary College.
Leung Siu-fai, who serves as director of Agriculture at the Fisheries and Conservation Department, told the press that pet owners should keep their hamsters at home and not take them out.
“All pet owners should observe good personal hygiene, and after you have been in contact with animals and their food, you should wash your hands,” Leung stated.
“Do not kiss your pets,” he added.
Officials said that customers who purchased their hamsters from the store in question after January 7 will face mandatory quarantine and must surrender their hamsters to the government to be killed.
Meanwhile, customers who purchased hamsters within the city since December 22 will be forced to undergo COVID-19 testing and be urged not to contact others until their results have come back negative. Should their hamsters test positive, the owners will be subject to quarantine.
Hong Kong’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was “shocked and concerned” by the decision to kill the animals, and urged the government not to “take any drastic action before reviewing its approach.”
The city has been struggling with a local Omicron outbreak traced back to several Cathay Pacific crew members who dined at bars and restaurants.
The Associated Press reported:
The government announced late Monday that two former flight attendants have been arrested for leaving their homes during quarantine and later being confirmed to have coronavirus infections. It did not identify their employer, but said the two arrived from the U.S. on Dec. 24 and 25 and “conducted unnecessary activities” while under medical surveillance.
The arrests came after Cathay Pacific said it had fired two crew members for breaching coronavirus protocols. It previously apologized and called their actions “extremely disappointing.” The company had to cut back on flights — both passenger and cargo — in January because of tightened virus curbs.
The two have been released on bail and will have their case heard in court on Feb. 9. If convicted of violating anti-epidemic regulations, they could face up to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of up to 5,000 Hong Kong dollars ($642).
The slaughtering of 2,000 small animals, even when establishment sources such as the CDC affirm there is no danger of people contracting the virus from their pets, is only the latest example of the irrationality of the COVID hysteria that has swept the world.
The constant bombardment of reporting and entertainment stoking fear has led many to believe we are facing the bubonic plague. People are being arrested and rounded up for simply eating at a restaurant in defiance of coronavirus protocols.
Not only is the slaughter of thousands of harmless animals an act of barbarity in itself, but it also raises the question: “How long will it be until they start killing infected human beings in the name of the greater good?”
Considering the ways in which they have already been jailing, fining, and discriminating against the unvaccinated, there can be no doubt the forces of tyranny would not be averse to openly taking our lives if they could get away with it. Tyrants always go as far as the people allow them.
