At the beginning of the Covid-19 epidemic, when little was known about the virus, the British government considered for some time issuing an official order to exterminate cats, due to fears that the disease might spread. All of this was revealed in an interview given to Channel 4 by the former health minister, Lorgh Bethel, according to The Times.
Can you imagine what would happen if we tried to do that?
– asked Bethel, who led the UK Department of Health from 2020 to 2021.
The statement caused a general shock in the island country, as a result of which a spontaneous campaign was formed on social media, in which cat owners wrote next to a photo of their pet that they were going to fight to the end against such a government move.
Larry, the tenth Downing Street cat, wrote on his sarcastic Twitter account that he could not take the suggestion as an impersonal insult. There are 10.9 million domestic cats in the UK, according to the Animal Welfare Report 2022.
Animals, dogs, and cats living around humans have been infected with the coronavirus that caused the pandemic in several cases, but they can spread the disease to people with amazingly low efficiency.
(time)
