A young animal lover who bought a hamster on January 1 said she will not hand her pet to the authorities to be put down, saying the official call is unfair and disrespectful of life.
The owner went to a testing center to get tested yesterday afternoon right after authorities announced the possible hamster-to-human transmission and is waiting for her test result.
"If, unfortunately, I test positive for the virus then I may have to turn my hamster over because I cannot refuse to do it and cause health concerns just because it's my pet," she said.
"But if the testing result shows I'm not infected no one can take my hamster away unless they kill me."
The owner said she bought the hamster on January 1 and the 14-day incubation period had already passed, so the hamster should be fine if she had tested negative after the incubation period.
She added that she had taken the hamster to a veterinary clinic for examination a few days ago and was told her hamster was healthy.
"I've also found research saying humans can pass viruses to hamsters but not the other way around," she said. "I believe hamsters, which have been domesticated by humans as pets for many years, cannot infect humans."
She also said she understands authorities may have to kill infected hamsters due to the shortage of medical resources, but culling all hamsters even if they test negative showed no respect for life.
"The government is not treating pets as [living animals]," she said. "Will they also kill all infected Covid-19 patients and their close contacts?
"If all people who attended [NPC deputy Witman Hung Wai-man's] birthday party are culled then I will hand my hamster to the government."
However, around 40 other owners asked about abandoning their pets in the few hours after the official announcement.
Sophia Chan from a hamster concern group slammed the authorities' decision as unreasonable and inhumane, saying it was "genocide" that frightened every pet owner in the SAR.
"One hamster owner was crying her eyes out when she called me, saying she cannot persuade her family to keep the hamster, adopted just last week.
"Her family insisted she surrender her pet to authorities. Otherwise, they will send the hamster to the AFCD for disposal.
"In another case an owner called me to ask if her hamster needed to undergo a medical examination or other tests. But when she returned home she found her family had already disposed of the hamster by dumping it in a garbage room.
"She had searched through every bag of garbage and couldn't locate her pet."
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals yesterday said it was shocked by the government's decision, which "did not take animal welfare and human-animal bonding into consideration."
The society hopes authorities will not take any drastic action before reviewing plans and said it will liaise with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and discuss alternative approaches.
Gary Chan Hak-kan, a legislator with the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, also criticized the move for not respecting animals at all and questioned why animals that tested negative could not be spared.
He also said authorities should quarantine animals instead of culling them all.
