Dozens of pet stores that sold hamsters in Hong Kong may resume business from Sunday, Hong Kong’s government said, after being shuttered last week and thousands culled over coronavirus fears.
Authorities enraged pet lovers with an order to cull more than 2,200 hamsters after tracing an outbreak to a worker in a shop where 11 hamsters tested positive. Imported hamsters from Holland into the Chinese territory had been cited as the source. All hamster imports remain banned.
The city’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said in a statement late on Saturday that it collected 1,134 samples from animals other than hamsters including rabbits and chinchillas, which were all negative.
Five stores, including the “Little Boss” pet shop, which started the outbreak, remained shuttered as they had not yet “passed the virus test,” the government said.
“All the other concerned pet shops on the other hand have been thoroughly disinfected and cleaned and the environmental swabs collected from these shops have all passed the COVID-19 virus test,” it said.
The government said on Friday it would compensate pet shops trading in hamsters, offering a one-off payment of up to HK$30,000 (US$3,850).