Scrutable

The Hong Kong government will kill all hamsters being sold in pet shops after several hamsters at a Causeway Bay pet shop tested positive for Covid-19 – the world's first such observation.

An estimated 2,000 hamsters will be killed, including those at 34 local pet shops, as officials call upon citizens to surrender hamsters bought since December 22.

All animals including rabbits and chinchillas at the Causeway Bay pet shop and the shop's Tai Po storage house will also be killed, although none tested positive as of Tuesday afternoon.

Yuen said it was worrying that genetic mutation was detected at the pet shop samples.

“It is a big issue. If Hong Kong churns out a strain of Covid-19 related to hamsters and it turns out to be more transmissible, it will be bad,” he said in support of the government's decision to kill the hamsters.