on hamsters. this isn t a joke. the hong kong government claims that hamsters imported from the netherlands gave covid to a pet shop work at this store. they have since ordered the closure of every pet shop in the city that sold small animals. they ve also called and killed more than 2500 hamsters, white rats, rabbits, chinchillas, and guinea pigs. reporter: the authorities told residents who have bought hamsters on or after december 22nd to hand them over to be euthanized. prompting scenes like this. where animal rights activists tried to intercept pet hamsters before their handover to officials. pet owners should not be worried about catching covid from their animals. reporter: researcher and veterinarian vanessa bar said the hong kong government overreacted. we know so far in the pandemic, there have been over