The Hamster Society (Singapore), a volunteer animal welfare group, shared a shocking discovery of animal neglect at a HDB block in Hougang.
They found neglected hamsters being housed in cages left along the corridor of the block, starving and dehydrated with some of the hamsters already dead and rotting.
Here is what they said
A nightmare for every animal lover (warning : graphic images)
We were alerted to a case of negligence at 709 hougang avenue 2, where several syrian and dwarf hamsters were housed at the common area. We do not usually interfere in these cases, however once we found out that they had not been given food or water in DAYS, we had to intervene.
When volunteers arrived, it was even worse than described. Dead, rotting, hamsters were in the same cage as the living ones. Maggot filled carcases, mummified carcasses with NOTHING left but skin and bones with a stench of death and ammonia from pee and poo. Some passerbys had kindly offered water and fruit from their houses to the survivors, and they were so hungry and dehydrated that the gobbled up everything. They might have even cannibalised their cagemates as the bodies were completely hollowed out with bones sticking out. We will let the pictures do the talking.
Why do these people keep pets, if they were not willing to give them the very basic care, or the decency of removing a dead body in the cage? Singapore is facing a severe heat wave these coming months, with temperatures of up to 36 degrees. These animals have not only suffered in the heat, but did not even have the respite of clean drinking water to combat the heat. We have reported this case to the relevant authorities and we are glad that swift action is underway.
The survivors are being seen at the vet now, and will be split up into foster homes for proper care. We do not know if they are in adoptable condition yet, and they will be in quarantine while we assess the situation. If you are keen to help out with our growing numbers, do check out our adoption gallery for hamsters who have cleared quarantine and are ready for their new homes.
Warning: Some images might be too graphic, viewer discretion is aadvised.