The Great Fur-Scape
Last week a class pet hamster named Hammy went missing from
his cage in Salt edge Primary. Hammy was supposed to be spending the half term
holiday with one of the class 4 pupils, but in the rush to leave after the
final bell rang poor Hammy was forgotten. Hammy must have escaped from his cage
during the holidays, despite class teacher Patsy Jones stating “she was certain
she locked the cage before she left the school, even put a pad lock on it as an
extra precaution.”
Caretaker Joe Smith was cleaning the classroom on Thursday when
he noticed little Hammy was gone. He then had to break the news to the poor
children when the returned to school on Monday, sources tell us that “the
children were heartbroken and inconsolable for hours.” We spoke to class 4
pupil, Lilly, to find out how she was feeling over Hammy’s disappearance. She told
us “I am very upset that Hammy is gone as he was a lovely pet and we will all miss him very much.”
Chris Jenkins, of animal welfare group S.A.V.E, gave us his
strong views on the situation. He said to us “this is exactly why schools should
not be allowed to keep hamsters as pets. Hamsters are very nervous creatures
and they need a lot of love and attention. Hammy would have been very distressed
while on his own , so you can’t blame him for escaping when he had the chance. Me
and my group are campaigning for it to be illegal for pets to be kept in
schools.” However child psychologist Sam Pepper disagreed with him by saying
that “pets are a great way of teaching children responsibility, and if cared
for properly should definitely be allowed in schools!”
Meanwhile the search for Hammy continues, and how he escaped
from his cage remains a mystery. However if you happen to see a brown and white
hamster on the loose in Liverpool please get in touch with us via our website.
We will bring you more news on this story as it unfolds.