NGO PETA Asia offers HK$50,000 reward for info about suspected hamster abuse

An animal rights NGO is offering a HK$50,000 reward for anyone with information that could assist police in a case involving suspected hamster abuse.

In a social media post on Wednesday, PETA Asia said the discovery of two hamsters next to a rubbish bin in Sham Shui Po with severe injuries to their limbs was “horrifying.”

“Parts of their paws and feet were missing. The injuries are extremely abnormal, and [we] suspect deliberate animal cruelty,” the post, written in Chinese, said.

The suspected abuse came to light on Monday when hamster concern group Hamu Mirukuti said it had received a call for help from a man, surnamed Cheung, in the early hours. He told the group that he had stumbled upon a cage with two hamsters next to a bin in Sham Shui Po, according to the group’s Facebook post.

Members of the concern group located the cage, and were startled to find that the hamsters’ four limbs were partially cut off. They reported the case to police.

The hamsters are currently being cared for by the group, which said it was arranging for them to see a veterinarian.

HKFP has reached out to the police for comment.

Police told HKFP on Thursday that it received a report on Monday about two abandoned hamsters on Kweilin Street in Sham Shui Po. The incident was classified as an animal cruelty case. No one has been arrested yet, police said.

The maximum sentence for animal cruelty in Hong Kong is a HK$200,000 fine and imprisonment for three years.