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Threatened Hamsters Land France in Court

EU aims to force French to save rodent of Alsace

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 26, 2009 3:27 AM CDT

(Newser) – Indifference to the great hamster of Alsace has landed France in hot water with the European Union, the Telegraph reports. Fewer than 200 of the distinctive black-bellied rodents remain. EU officials, charging that France has refused all attempts to protect the tiny animal, are taking the nation to Europe's highest court in a bid to force France to save the hamster.

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The Alsace hamster has been almost completely wiped out by rat poison, traps and farmers flooding its burrows. (Wikipedia)

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When a European mammal like the great hamster approaches extinction, nature is sending a message. - Stavros Dimas, EU Environment Commissioner

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Threatened Hamsters Land France in Court