Where Were You When They Came for the Hamsters?
The day Hong Kong decided to kill 2,000 of the cuddly creatures to fall in line with China’s zero-Covid policy marks a new, dystopian low.
Where capital punishment meets zero-Covid.
Photographer: Uwe Anspach/picture alliance/Getty
It has the feel of a surrealist watershed, the moment that brought home the nature of Hong Kong’s dystopian journey more vividly than any other. Perhaps we will look back one day, when this is all over, and remember where we were when they decided to kill the hamsters.
The scientific basis for the government’s decision to euthanize 2,000 of the small mammals appears questionable, at least. It follows the discovery that 11 of the creatures were infected with the delta variant of Covid-19. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk of animals spreading the virus to people is low. A Hong Kong-based health academic called the cull unjustified and excessive. Animal welfare workers are outraged.