Do you ever look at someone and just wonder: are they even human?
The lack of conscience in some people is honestly astounding at times. Pet owners who abuse and abandon your pets, I mean you.
Honestly, have these people ever thought that maybe, if they aren’t capable of handling the responsibility that comes with getting a pet, then maybe they shouldn’t get one.
Surge in Unwanted Hamsters Since Start of 2021
According to a Facebook post by Hamster Society Singapore (HSS) on 9 May, there has been a “rapid increase of abandonment cases and surrender cases” since the start of 2021.
At least 71 hamsters have been reduced by HSS since the start of the year—of these 71 hamsters, 31 hamsters had been abandoned and another 40 had been surrendered.
According to Mothership, in April alone, 22 hamsters had been rescued.
In one case on 4 April, ten dwarf hamsters had been abandoned at Jurong East. Just three days later on 7 April, another six dwarf hamsters were rescued at Tampines. In another case on 18 April, five dwarf hamsters were abandoned and rescued at Ang Mo Kio.
Many Hamsters Were Injured or Sick When Brought in
In one case on 7 May, a Syrian hamster was rescued at Yew Tee. According to the post by HSS, the hamster had several injuries. This included a severe cataract on its left eye, a swollen and infected right eye, and a swollen left toe. It reportedly let out heartbreaking distressed screams when handled by the vet.
In another case, one hamster rescued by HSS had raw wounds on its body and was screaming in pain. Another hamster had severe mites infection and glaucoma—it passed away four days after HSS rescued it.
More photos of the injuries can be found here (trigger warning: graphic content). Proceed at your own discretion, because those photos will make you feel nauseous.
A HSS spokesperson said that sick hamsters were often surrendered or abandoned because the cost of medical treatment would be greater than the cost of getting a new hamster. Owners might also be unwilling to devote the time and effort required for caring for a sick hamster. Hence, many hamsters are already “severely sick” when HSS receives them.
Rise in Cases Caused Partly by WFH Arrangement
Back when the pandemic started and everyone stayed at home as much as possible, one of the concerns raised was the amount of people getting pets as a way to stave off boredom. Many were worried that the pets bought or adopted would end up being abandoned when the pandemic ended.
Looking at the situation now, it seems like our fears came true.
When interviewed by Mothership, HSS raised three reasons behind the surge in unwanted hamsters.
The first was that buying hamsters as a “surprise gift” for family or friends was “very common”. The second was that people often impulsively buy hamsters without doing sufficient research, which results in the misconception that hamsters are “good starter pets” and are “easy and cheap to care for” due to their small size.
However many are not aware of important things, like the fact that one should not keep more than one hamster in one cage, or that there are different cage size requirements for different type of hamsters—without these, owners might risk over-breeding or hamsters becoming territorial.
Another commonly overlooked fact is that hamsters are most active at night, which might result in owners quickly becoming bored of them.
The very last reason was that amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many people had gotten hamsters to keep them company at home.
However, as predicted, when the work-from-home arrangement was slowly phased out at the start of the year, these hamsters were surrendered or abandoned as their owners could not commit the required time and effort to look after them.
HSS urged Singaporeans to stop impulse buying hamsters, reminding them that pet ownership is a lifetime commitment.
That’s right, pets aren’t “gifts” or toys for us to buy and throw away as we please.
Adopt Hamsters Instead
Instead, HSS recommended aspiring hamster owners to adopt hamsters instead of buying them.
This is because during the adoption process, potential owners are screened to ensure that they are suitable owners who are ready to commit to this responsibility. They will also be taught the proper ways to care for a hamster.
So, if you’re an aspiring hamster owner, please do be aware of and prepared for the responsibility of caring for and loving a living, breathing animal.
Feature Image: ToNN Stocker / Shutterstock.com
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