Golden hamster Golden hamster The golden hamster or Syrian hamster ("Mesocricetus auratus") is a rodent in the subfamily Cricetinae, the hamsters. Their natural geographical range is limited to arid areas of northern Syria and southern Turkey. Their numbers have been declining due to a loss of habitat caused by agriculture and deliberate elimination by humans. Thus, in the wild, they are now considered vulnerable by the IUCN. However, captive-breeding programs are well established, and captive-bred golden hamsters are often kept as small house pets. Additionally, they are also used as scientific research animals throughout the world. The size of adult animals ranges
Country-of-origin labeling August 1, 2008 (), August 31, 2008 (), and May 24, 2013 (). On December 18, 2015 Congress repealed the COOL law, as a part of the omnibus budget bill because of a series of WTO rulings that prohibited labels based on country of origin. "Under §304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 as amended (), every imported item must be conspicuously and indelibly marked in English to indicate to the "ultimate purchaser" its country of origin." According to the U.S. Customs, generally defined the "ultimate purchaser" is the last U.S. person who will receive the goods in the form