More than 100 hamsters were dumped by Hong Kong pet owners after the government announced a cull as a precaution against animal-to-human transmission of the coronavirus.

Animal welfare volunteers said dozens of hamsters had been left to die in the streets, and they were scrambling to rescue those abandoned in various public areas.

Numerous messages and photographs were posted on social media, showing the small furry mammals left in parks, bushes and garbage collection points.

Although the cull order only applies to hamsters imported to Hong Kong since December 22, animal welfare groups told the Post that Hongkongers were also tossing out older pets unaffected by the ruling.

“Owners should not just leave them on the street where there are cats, dogs, eagles or other predators. They should allow them a chance to live,” said volunteer Pamper Le.

Le said that she and six other volunteers were caring for more than 40 hamsters handed over by owners or picked up off the streets.

“They were mostly abandoned in garbage stations and parks, sometimes in private residential estates. Most were in cages, which might not have food and water, while others were in paper boxes,” she said.

She added that the owners of six hamsters promised to take back their pets once health concerns over the animals had quietened down.

The authorities appealed to pet shops and owners on January 18 to hand over about 2,000 hamsters imported since December 22 for a mass cull and temporarily suspended the import of the small animals after finding evidence of the first possible animal-to-human transmission of Covid-19 at a Causeway Bay pet shop.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) made the decision after 11 samples taken from hamsters at the store came back positive.

By Monday, 74 people had tested positive for Covid-19 in the pet shop cluster, while a hamster bought from a store in Mong Kok on January 16 and surrendered to the AFCD tested positive.

Scientists from the University of Hong Kong confirmed that there were two separate hamster-to-human transmissions involving the Delta variant of the coronavirus, and that the pets were infected before being imported to the city. Their study was published in the medical journal The Lancet on Saturday.

A plastic box containing a hamster was found placed on the top of a rubbish bin.

As of January 22, 2,298 hamsters and nearly 300 small animals including rabbits, chinchillas and guinea pigs kept with the hamsters had been culled.

All 35 licensed pet stores selling hamsters were also ordered to temporarily suspend operations, with most reopening on Sunday after undergoing thorough disinfection measures and environmental swab tests.

Emphasising the importance of surrendering hamsters bought on or after December 22, an AFCD spokeswoman told the Post: “The onset of symptoms may not be triggered immediately after the hamsters are infected and current negative test results do not necessarily mean the hamsters concerned have not been infected.”

“In other words, touching or keeping these hamsters can cause infection and also risk spreading the virus,” she said.

Hamster concern group HamuClan said that since the culling order, it had taken in more than 50 hamsters, mostly handed over by owners, although some had been brought in from the streets.

Noel Louie, who runs the group, said the hamsters were all healthy and most were bought before December 22. She added that she suspected some owners had taken advantage of the government action to abandon their pets.

“No one told us their hamsters were bought after December 22, and those we received were relatively older,” she said.

Animal welfare group Hong Kong Life on Palm said it was caring for 11 hamsters brought to them after being found on the street.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it had stopped accepting hamsters since January 18, as its isolation facility had run out of space, but the group still continued to receive numerous calls from pet owners.

“We learned that some hamster owners did not fully understand the situation,” said the organisation’s spokeswoman.

The group emphasised that there was no rule affecting animals bought before December 22 and appealed to owners not to dump their pets.

HamuClan’s Louie said that while people were willing to take in abandoned hamsters, few realised that keeping the animals was more costly than just buying them.

She said that although a Campbell’s dwarf hamster cost HK$12 to HK$68 and other breeds were worth between HK$120 and HK$480, potential owners needed to know the price of a cage and other supplies was about HK$1,000 (US$128) in total.

Hamsters generally live for up to three years, Louie said, with medical fees for any potential surgery ranging from a few thousand dollars to HK$10,000.

“When we talked to them, we realised they did not know about the high cost of keeping a hamster,” she said, adding that the group was currently not proceeding with adoptions.

Meanwhile, pet shop owners have complained that the government measures had hit business hard.

Alan Cheng Ying-lun, 46, who has run a hamster shop in Mong Kok for 12 years, said panic-stricken customers had rushed to return pets, even those bought before December 22.

“They asked us to prove the pets were healthy and without any virus infection, but we lack the medical expertise,” he said. “We used to earn at least double during festivals like Christmas and New Year’s Day, but now we cannot see the end of the contemporary closure.”

Yau Pai-dan, 32, who runs an online pet supply store, said he used to earn about HK$4,000 a month selling hamster snacks, supplements and accessories, but business had dropped by 80 per cent following the cull.

Cat shop owner Mary Tsang, 63, said her previous earnings of about HK$120,000 a month have also been hit hard.

“People are afraid the animals are virus carriers, so they’ve become more cautious about owning a pet during the pandemic,” she said.

On Friday, the government announced a one-off payment to all pet shops selling hamsters as financial relief.

Payments of between HK$10,000 and HK$30,000 would be worked out based on the size of the shops, and owners could apply from February 5 to 25.