RISE OF SUPER-RATS IN BRITAIN

The rodent population is exploding, partly due to their growing resistance to poisons

LONDON

IN A worrying development that may spread beyond its shores, rats in Britain appear to be growing resistant to poisons previously used to control their population effectively, reported the Guardian.

The emergence of the so-called super-rats means that the authorities are likely to be forced to use more powerful poisons – with potentially harmful effects on the environment.

The number of rats in Britain is already booming as the climate warms and the frequency of rubbish collection is scaled back in some areas.

Two powerful rodenticides that may salvage the situation – brodifacoum and flocoumafen – are so toxic that their use is currently allowed only indoors.

This is because of fears that these poisons could endanger birds, pets and wild animals.

However, rat-catchers in Britain are now appealing for permission to use the poisons outdoors. They point out that other countries in the European Union already allow this.

The British authorities may have little choice.

Last year alone, the rat population in the country rose by a shocking 13 per cent, hitting an estimated high of 50 million animals, the Daily Mail reported.

In the worst-hit cities, like York in northern England, rat infestation has more than doubled.

Perhaps most troubling of all, the British Pest Control Association has reported that there are at least two towns in Berkshire county in south-east England where rats have become totally immune to existing poisons.

"We are very concerned about this from a public-health point of view," Ms Oliver Madge, chief executive of the association, told The Guardian.

The trade body will hold urgent discussions this week with the Department of Health about implementing emergency measures to beat back the super rats. The Fact that some water companies have stopped putting poison in sewers has been mentioned as a contributing cause for the plague of rats.

So-called "green" moves like compost heaps are also said to worsen the problem, as the rats are tunnelling into the compost and finding abundant food.

As for the more powerful poisons that may be approved for wider use, rat-catchers say they need to be applied in smaller amounts.

From myPaper, My News, World – Tuesday, 05-May-2009