British Student Kills Hamster for Fun

As a hamster lover who just adopted a new one today (still unnamed), I find this incident particularly reprehensible.

Thanks to animalblog.co.uk for the story.

Welcome Lou!

Our last two hamsters passed away in September and are now buried under some berry bushes. Since then, I've been looking for another dwarf hamster (I currently have two teddy bear hamsters, Doris and Heidi). Finally, on Sunday, I found one at our animal shelter.

Our new Russian dwarf is named LOU!

Hamsters Celebrate 70 Years in the US

Interesting article. Prior to the 1930s, hamsters were pretty much in the wild. Prior to the 1970s, virtually all were descended from one breeding pair.

Now, one million hamsters are kept as pets, an increase of 41 percent since 2001. (This includes the two sitting on the shelf in our house!)

Sadly, though, some 200,000 hamsters were used for research in the United States in 2000, third behind rats and mice.

Hamsters Becoming Popular in China. Poor Hamsters

If they treat hamsters in China like the rotten way they treat other aninals, then I feel sorry about all those hamsters. And I'm not talking about the individuals who keep them. I'm talking about the people selling them.

Pet shop owners have reported huge demand for the little critters since the new year began on Feb 7. Stocks are running low and prices are climbing as children pester their parents for their very own furry piece of good luck.

According to the Chinese media, hamster prices have tripled to about 30 yuan (£2.10) each.

The animal is considered to be a more acceptable pet than other rodents, such as rats and mice, according to Xinhua News Agency.