Covid in Hong Kong: 'Outrage' as mass cull of hamsters ordered

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Authorities in Hong Kong have swooped in on a pet shop, seizing a number of hamsters to be euthanised following a Covid outbreak. Families who have bought a hamster from the Little Boss pet store since 22 December have been told to hand over their pet for euthanasia. Some 2,000 hamsters and other small mammals are set to be put down. Authorities announced the decision on Tuesday after an outbreak of the Delta variant linked to a worker in the shop prompted officials to test hundreds of animals there - with 11 hamsters positive. The BBC's China media analyst Kerry Allen explains why the authorities decided to take this drastic step, and, how, given that any animal purchased after 22 December must be returned to the shop to be culled, will be causing anguish for those who bought these over the Christmas season. She says that, "as a guinea pig owner myself, this really upsets me", and that people are outraged as "this seems a very cruel way of dealing with it". She notes that Hong Kong has been matching mainland China's zero-Covid policy in the hope that the borders between the two regions can reopen. Photo: White and brown hamster eating cheese Credit: Getty Images