{"id":25744,"date":"2011-03-25T14:19:13","date_gmt":"2011-03-25T18:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/25744\/great-hamster-alsace-finds-champion-fight-survive\/"},"modified":"2011-03-25T14:19:13","modified_gmt":"2011-03-25T18:19:13","slug":"great-hamster-alsace-finds-champion-fight-survive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/25744\/great-hamster-alsace-finds-champion-fight-survive\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Hamster of Alsace Finds Champion in Fight to Survive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted By:
AfSD\u2122(ADVOCATE FOR SAVING DOGS\u2122)<\/a>
\n
\nFacebook:
Advocate for Saving Dogs\u2122 on Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Great Hamster of Alsace Finds Champion in Fight to Survive<\/h4>\n

posted by: Jim Pietrangelo<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Great<\/p>\n

There’s a little black-bellied hamster<\/a>
\n in France that’s counting on one man in its fight for survival. Known
\nas the Great Hamster of Alsace, this little guy’s numbers have dropped
\nfrom about 4,000 in 1979 to less than 500 in 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal<\/a>.
\n The reason for its decline: Greed — it’s simply more profitable to
\ngrow corn that, once harvested at the conclusion of its short growing
\nseason, quickly exposes the hamster to predators, than it is to grow
\nother tall crops like alfalfa and wheat that provide cover for longer
\nperiods of time.<\/p>\n

I’ve got a soft spot for hamsters. I remember
\nyears ago when I took a job outside New Orleans that entailed moving
\ncross country. I was forced to leave my family for a few months so that
\nthe house could be sold. I remember the long drive and how sad I was to
\nbe leaving everyone, even if just for a short time. What sticks in my
\nmind, however, is that as soon as I arrived at my new home, I received a
\n phone call from my young daughter. She was beside herself with grief as
\n she cried to me that her hamster had suddenly died. I was powerless to
\nhelp and tried to console her from a distance as best I could. Despite
\nwhat some people think, these are the moments that stick in a father’s
\nmind.<\/p>\n

Jean-Paul Burget loves hamsters, too. He must, because he’s
\n spent years fighting for their survival. Despite the fact that the
\nGreat Hamster of Alsace, whose scientific name is Cricetus cricetus, can
\n be found under different names throughout Europe and all the way into Russia<\/a>, Mr. Burget considers Alsace, on the eastern edge of France, this hamster’s true home.<\/p>\n

In
\n his fight to persuade French farmers to grow more protective crops and
\nless corn, Mr. Burget is waging battle within the European Court of
\nJustice using a 1992 endangered species law as his weapon of choice. The
\n Great Hamster of Alsace, argues Mr. Burget, should be protected under
\nthat law. The court is scheduled to issue its final ruling on the matter in April<\/a> and,
\n if found guilty of allowing the hamster population to decline to
\ndangerously low levels, the government of France could face fines of up
\nto \u20ac68,000 for each hamster found living in the fields of the city of
\nStrasbourg, according to The Independent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At
\n issue here is not only the fate of our little French friend, but how
\nmuch autonomy should be given to governments when decisions are made
\nthat impact environmental and wildlife goals<\/a>.
\n Indeed, while the fortunes of the Great Hamster of Alsace depend much
\nupon the ruling of the Court, the fates of untold species of animals may
\n well hang precariously in the balance between the quest for profit and
\nthe imposition of humanity.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Related Stories: <\/strong><\/div>\n
All About Hamsters (Video)<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
Teen Kills Brother’s Hamster and Faces 2 Years in Prison<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/b>
AfSD\u2122(ADVOCATE FOR SAVING DOGS\u2122)<\/a>
\n
\nFacebook:
Advocate for Saving Dogs\u2122 on Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/b>Please join me at Friendburst<\/font><\/a>
\n<\/b>Advocate for Saving Dogs\u2122<\/a>
\n<\/b>Animal Rights<\/a>
\n<\/b>\u2665We\u2665Are\u2665All\u2665Connected\u2665<\/a>
\n<\/b>Wolfen Warriors<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted By:AfSD\u2122(ADVOCATE FOR SAVING DOGS\u2122) Facebook:Advocate for Saving Dogs\u2122 on Facebook Great Hamster of Alsace Finds Champion in Fight to Survive posted by: Jim Pietrangelo There’s a little black-bellied hamster in France that’s counting on one man in its fight for survival. Known as the Great Hamster of Alsace, this little guy’s numbers have dropped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25744\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}