Hamster horror: Dead, rotting ones found at Hougang HDB block
SINGAPORE — Dead and rotting hamsters were found in cages at Block 709 Hougang Avenue 2, seemingly neglected by their owners.
The Hamster Society (Singapore) (HSS) said in an Instagram post on Sunday (5 June) that it was alerted that several Syrian and dwarf hamsters at the HDB block's common area had not been given food or water for days.
When volunteers arrived at the block, they found dead and rotting hamsters in the same cages as living ones. They described what they found as "maggot filled carcasses, mummified carcasses with nothing left but skin and bones, with a stench of death and ammonia from pee and poo".
The surviving hamsters were given water and fruit from passers-by. HSS said that some of them might have even cannibalised the dead hamsters, as the bodies were hollowed out.
HSS said that, with Singapore in the midst of a hot spell with temperatures up to 36 deg C, the hamsters would have had suffered in the heat with no clean drinking water in the cages.
The society has reported the case to the Animal and Veterinary Services. The surviving hamsters are being seen at the vet, and will be in quarantine to be assessed whether they are in adoptable condition.
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