Omicron Infections Worrying

Sorry little fella, you need to go... some 2,000 hamsters culled

Hamster-geddon has been the talk of the town today, as we watched news coverage of people giving up their rodent pets to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to test them for Covid-19, and regardless if they are negative or positive, they are "humanely handled", but we all know what that means...

One father interviewed outside the AFCD said it was not fair, having to get rid of the animal when it was a living thing, and having to explain to his children that the hamster had to be destroyed because of the pandemic. But at the same time he said for the safety of the family the hamster had to go.

A mother said her children had been talking about getting a small pet for a while and then they finally got the hamster on the weekend, but now she was taking it to be culled.

AFCD asked people to surrender their hamsters

But others reported in other news articles have refused to hand over the animals, saying they would rather die than surrender their hamsters. Some saw this as an act of resistance against the government, and others even organised a system to take in hamsters as fosters; it reminded some of when strangers would taken in protesters for their safety back in 2019.

It has even gotten to the point where death threats have been sent to infectious disease experts like Dr David Hui Shu-cheong, and Dr Yuen Kwok-yung, but he brushed off the ominous messages, as he'd received them before...

In any event, seeing headlines like "Killing Hamsters Drives Hong Kong to New Low in Meeting China's Zero-Covid Dream", and "Hong Kong hamster massacre: Residents resist 'zero-Covid' city's pet project" give a horrific impression of the city, especially when no other animal-to-human transmission has been found around the world for the past two years.

While experts are still trying to find out if it was animal-to-human transmission or the other way around, Yuen believes the hamsters that came from the Netherlands, were most probably infected while in the warehouse in Tai Po, which is why he still thinks the cull was necessary.

Can you get infected with a mask on? Possibly

Today there is a report that one could possibly be infected with the Omicron virus just by passing by an infected person -- and everyone is wearing masks.

This is the plausible explanation of how a 26-year-old kindergarten teacher tested positive after passing by two infected people while walking in an MTR tunnel at a Mei Foo exit.

CCTV footage and her Octopus card transaction history showed she went through a tunnel exit at almost the same time -- just nine seconds apart -- as the two infected people last Friday. All three wore masks, and the teacher did not have contact with the pair.

Hui says this shows that the Omicron variant is four to eight times more transmissible than the Delta variant.

"If the index [patient] was near the kindergarten teacher, the wind direction could carry droplets [containing virus] to the teacher," he said. "Although a surgical mask could protect you from large droplets, it could still reach your eyes or leak in when you rub your eyes and nose."

He added that short-range airborne transmission could also occur if they stayed at a close distance, through gaps at the sides of the masks. He suggested residents wear glasses, plain spectacles, or face shields on top of face masks for extra protection.

Hui says Omicron droplets can get into the eyes

Oh no. Here we go again with people going over the top with a face shield on top of masks and those goggles usually worn in laboratories.

We are so exhausted by the whole pandemic and now we are told to be even more paranoid. 

"When is this going to end?" people keep asking openly, and there's no definitive answer.

Now that Omicron can possibly be caught so easily, restaurants are definitely going to see a drop in dine-in business, and who wants to even eat with a friend anymore?

It's all too much to bear. The impending Year of the Tiger is not looking good...

Did Hamsters Infect a Woman with Covid-19?

Hamsters can easily spread viruses, says Yuen

I was going to write about the absurdity of Chinese claims that a piece of mail from Toronto that arrived in Beijing had Covid-19 causing at least two people to be infected, but now that insanity has been topped by Hong Kong health officials announcing some 2,000 hamsters will be culled, claiming some of them tested preliminary positive and could spread the virus in the city.

But first the mail.

The Beijing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday said traces of the Omicron variant was found on a letter mailed from Toronto and and suggested it could have been the source of the infection for the recipient.

Health Canada says virus on mail extremely low

Was there any genome sequencing done to verify if it is similar to Canadian strains of Omicron?

Nevertheless upon receiving media enquiries, Health Canada said while mail could be contaminated, "the risk of Covid-19 infection when handling paper mail or cardboard packages, including international mail, is extremely low.

"In general, coronavirus including variants do not spread from products or packaging shipped over a period of days or weeks," the health agency said.

Despite debunking Chinese concerns, Beijing has ordered the country's residents to stop ordering things from high-risk countries (basically anywhere in the world), and if they do receive mail, they must be double vaccinated and open the package outside the home wearing gloves.

Is this an inadvertent way to slow down or stop the posting of goods into China, such as illicit goods during the Olympics? In any event it is not a case heard elsewhere around the world, and sounds like a desperate attempt at trying to deflect attention away from the country's issues in battling the virus?

Meanwhile in Hong Kong things are becoming just as absurd.

China orders people to open their mail outside

This afternoon at a press conference held by the Centre for Health Protection, health officials announced that some 2,000 hamsters must be culled as some tested positive for Covid-19, and 11 of them were linked to two infected people who worked in a pet shop in Causeway Bay.

They believe this is the first animal-to-human transmission of the virus. All 34 licensed pet shops that sell hamsters must suspend operations, and the 150 customers who visited Little Boss shop must go into quarantine (and surrender the little furry creatures). 

The cull applies to all hamsters that were bought since December 22, when a shipment of the animals arrived from the Netherlands. They were transferred to a warehouse in Tai Po and a second shipment arrived on January 7.

"We have assessed the risks of these batches are relatively high and therefore made the decision based on public health needs," said Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Dr Leung Siu-fai. "We urge all pet owners to observe strict hygiene when handling their pets and cages, Do not kiss or abandon them on the streets."

When doing the genomic sequencing, Dr Yuen Kwok-yung of the University of Hong Kong said they had trouble mapping out the mutations from the sample taken from the shop assistant. 

A shop assistant was infected... by hamsters?

Wasn't she wearing a mask? How could a hamster transmit the virus to her?

"Some mutations found in that worker's [sample] could not be identified in a global genomic data bank," he said. "Experts are concerned whether there are any problems with those mutations... that's why we need to be extra cautious."

While some of the hamsters have tested preliminary positive -- and by the way, how are they tested? -- Yuen said it would take time for hamsters to show symptoms after infection, and keeping 2,000 alive could pose health risks to people looking after them.

"Hamsters are often used to do experiments because they are very sensitive to viruses and are easily infected. They usually release a great amount of virus in the first 10 days of being infected," he explained, calling the decision to cull the animals "decisive and wise".

The health authorities said the animals would be tested before being put down.

But those assurances sparked serious concern among animal welfare groups, including the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, saying the AFCD should review its approach before taking "drastic action".

Some 2,000 hamsters will be culled

This evening people in hazmat suits arrived at the aforementioned pet shop with people looking on. 

How do parents explain to their children that their recently acquired pet hamster needs to be surrendered and destroyed?

Can parents sue the government for causing the emotional distress of their children?

The culling of these animals reminds me of the "Four Pests Campaign" during the Great Leap Forward from 1958 to 1962, when rats, flies, mosquitoes and sparrows were to be eliminated. 

Sparrows were thought to consume four pounds of grain per bird, and so the Chinese set out to stop these animals from robbing their food. They banged pots and pans to make it so noisy for the sparrows that they couldn't rest in their nests and would drop dead from the sky. Their eggs were smashed, chicks killed.

What happened? The sparrows were nearly killed into extinction, and resulted in a surge in bed bugs...

Wild Boar Culling Continues

A baby wild boar rummaging through garbage for food

It is disturbing to find the Hong Kong government still insists on culling wild boars in "black spots" that show no fear and pose a risk to humans.

The head of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said on Sunday that it has "humanely handled" 28 animals since the policy was introduced last month to euthanise problem boars.

"We have captured and humanely handled boars in five out of more than 60 black spots," Leung Siu-fai said on Sunday.

AFCD should advise how to deal with wild boars

The "capture and kill" policy for wild boars sparked an outcry from animal activists, calling on the government to reverse its strategy and instead step up its neutering program. They believe only a small fraction of boars have been neutered.

Yet Leung said the department would continue its operations at black spots.

"We will continue our strategy to protect the public's safety. That means we will continue to capture boars which appear regularly, are not afraid of people, and even pose a safety risk at black spots," he said.

"We will also, if there are referral cases, report on boars going to urban areas, and we will assess if they pose a risk, and if they do, we will also capture and remove them."

How will the officials be able to identify those that wander into urban areas more often than others? Do they have them all tracked? And where are these "black spots"? How about telling the public where they are so that they are more cautious next time?

Activists condemn capturing and killing boars

Leung also said there would be more efforts made to dissuade people from feeding boars and improve the design of garbage bins.

How about launching a large-scale education campaign on why people should not feed wild boars, and what they should do if they encounter these animals. The AFCD should also continue to neuter ones they capture to control the population.

The AFCD did a study two years ago and estimated there were from 1,800 to 3,300 wild boars in the countryside areas. According to a spokesman, the animals are naturally wary of humans, so it is rare they will attack people.

Why is the government so insistent on killing these animals when it is humans that are encroaching on their environment?

Anger Grows at Govt's Culling of Seven Wild Boars

A hungry wild boar taking advantage of someone's picnic

The anger at how the Hong Kong government is dealing with the issue of wild boars encroaching into urban areas continues to simmer, with some 350 people in the veterinary sector signing a petition.

They are urging the authorities to stop the capture-and-kill strategy for wild boars and return to the original plan of neutering them so that they cannot reproduce.

Seven wild boars were killed last week

People who signed the petition included practicing vets, nurses and veterinary students.

One of the students who initiated the petition said overseas studies show contraception is the most effective way to reduce the wild boar population in the long term, so the government should not suspend the scheme after contraceptives were only used on about 300 wild pigs.

Another student said they learned about animal welfare and ethics in school, and believe they have a duty to speak up for wild animals in Hong Kong against the "unfair" strategy.

"Only a small number of wild boars have hurt people. And why did they do so? It's because humans invaded their habitats. They have no other options than to come into the city to search for food," she said in a radio show.

"It's not the wild boars' fault that they appear in the city. We should not kill them, but should step up education so people will not feed or get too close to them," she added.

Many roam in the urban areas in search of food

Indeed. Many Hongkongers feel the seven wild boars that were killed last week were innocent victims and should not be first of all lured with food -- which is against the authorities' advice -- and then killing them.

How about stepping up education around not feeding the boars and really fining or punishing people for giving them food? If police can constantly stop people from gathering in more than groups of four, surely they can patrol well known areas where wild boars are found and catch people who are feeding them...

Gov't Defends Culling Wild Boars

The wild boars were lured down with bread by the authorities

Animal rights groups are up in arms after the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department captured and killed seven wild boars in Wong Chuk Hang.

In plain sight of the media, the AFCD lured the wild pigs with bread -- which the government has repeatedly told the public not to feed them -- and then tranquilized them with dart guns.

Seven wild boars were culled 

It seems the AFCD is now taking drastic action after a wild boar knocked down an auxiliary policeman before biting him in the leg and then the animal plunged 10 stories to its death in a residential car park in Tin Hau last Wednesday.

There had been numerous complaints from the public for the authorities to do something about the wild boars, capture them and take them to remote areas, instead of ignoring the problem and worse having ignorant people feeding the animals as if they were pets. The number of sightings involving wild boars rose from 225 in 2011 to 1,002 last year.

When criticized for using food to lure the wild boars down, Simon Chan Kin-fung, the department's assistant director for conservation said on a radio show: "Even if we did not use food to attract them down from the hill yesterday, they would still come [to urban areas]."

Perhaps what made the optics even worse was that several of the boars had young ones with them when they were "compassionately" put down.

Police officer bit in leg by boar

"Some other parts of the world have been using the hunting method. We are using a very humane way to put down the wild boars, with dart guns and medicine injection. We will continue to use food to capture the wild boars in the city area," Chan said.

Last week the department announced that wild boars in urban areas would be "regularly captured for humane dispatch with a view to reducing their number and nuisance"... in other words cull them.

The previous strategy was to capture them, neuter them so they would not be able to breed and then relocate them to a remote area. 

About 20 staff were involved in capturing and euthanising the seven animals, which weighed between 50k to 170kg.

Chan said the department only targeted wild pigs that were frequently found in urban areas, not the ones in rural places.

However, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals condemned the AFCD for its actions, accusing officials of ignoring suggestions on how to manage the problem.

"The SPCA reiterates that a non-lethal approach to wildlife management is always preferred, and is against the idea of hunting boars, as this has proved to be problematic on several fronts," it said.

The boars had young ones with them last night

Roni Wong Ho-yin, a Hong Kong Wild Boar Concern Group committee member who witnessed the operation, described the use of food to capture the animals as "despicable and bloody".

He said the bait could attract animals that humans were not regularly feeding.

"The department has been educating people not to feed the wild boars," he said. "But they are doing something self-contradictory. This could change the behaviour of some wild boars which are not used to being fed by humans."

Others felt the public must be educated not to feed the animals because it gives them an unnatural food source that encourages them to reproduce. 

So if they are, then it seems they are reproducing at a much faster rate than the AFCD can neuter them, or the authorities are not capturing enough of them to really make an impact on the population numbers.

An artistic impression of the wild boar cull...

In any event, while there was a lot of outrage online, one artist took to his blank page and created a riff off of artist Wang Xingwei's riff off of the Tiananmen Square massacre picture of people riding bicycles and taking two penguins that were shot in the chest.

Instead a Hong Kong artist showed boars riding a bicycle with a wooden board behind, carrying another wounded boar, one in the foreground wearing a yellow helmet and tears dripping from its eye.

Even wild pigs have feelings too...