My friend Zoran sends me this link: Hamster prices triple in China.
According to the Chinese media, prices have tripled to about 30 yuan ($4.20, £2.10) per hamster across the country.
In the Year of the Rat, this tiny creature has become the most acceptable rodent, a type of animal that is not everyone’s first-choice pet.
“Rats and mice have a bad image, but hamsters are gentle. You can hold them in your hand a play with them,” Xinhua News Agency reported.
Pet stores are also reporting an increased interest in other, similar-looking creatures, such as chinchillas and squirrels.
Yikes. I shudder to think what will happen next February, when the year of the rat comes to an end. We all know the horrors of Easter, when cute bunnies are given — and rapidly neglected. This seems to be the same phenomenon, potentially on a massive scale.
In other chinchilla news, our charity, the Matilde Mission, now has a UK partner: R&J Chinchilla Rescue. The Matilde Mission has given a grant for the year to support R&J’s work; you can read more at their site.
And the Matilde Mission continues to welcome your donations; you can read about our latest work here.
Let’s be glad that a hamster’s skin is too thin, and tears too easily, to be a good source of fur!
Rats and mice have a bad image, but hamsters are gentle. You can hold them in your hand a play with them,” Xinhua News Agency reported.
Hmmp! A properly domesticated rat is much gentler than a hamster, though it will probably crawl out of your hand and walk up your arm to sit on your shoulder.
Djiril is right. Rats are smarter and more social than hamsters. They are much better companions.
Regardless, it’s sad to see our bad ideas get exported to China.
Rats are really great pets. I had a really great pet rat for a few years and she was the best. She was also the smartest creature ever.