Jun 30, 2023
By: BI India BureauEarlier this year, the streets of Paris saw shoulder-high piles of garbage as garbage collectors went on a strike on March 6. This literally gave legs to the furries whose number had multiplied sharply during the pandemic.
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The French National Medicine Academy issued a warning in 2022 highlighting the health hazard that rats posed to humans as they are known to pass on several diseases.
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Since attempts to eradicate rats have failed, Paris City Hall is now looking at ways for humans to cohabit with the rodents peacefully. The rats are now almost a part of the decor in Paris, goes the popular joke.
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Paris may have a huge rat problem but Chicago has been topping the list as the “rat capital” for seven years in a row. It has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of rats in the USA. London and New York too have a fairly high population of rodents.
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Rats and Paris go back a long way. Rats were the biggest carriers of the Bubonic Plague back in the 14th century that killed more than half the population at the time.
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Rats are a much maligned lot but they have their uses too. Back in the 14th century, rat catchers could collect prize money for rat skins, which were later made into dainty gloves for London’s rich.
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Paris unleashed war against the furries in 2017, as they are often found scurrying around most restaurants. While Paris launched closed garbage bins and rat traps all over the city it has not helped deal with the menace.
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New Zealand is another country that has been battling the rat menace. But unlike Paris the danger to local bird species has been higher. Rats came with Polynesian ships that came to the island country back in the 13 century.
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New Zealand has lost a third of its local bird species that tend to nest on the grounds and grasslands because of rats. South Georgia is officially the first island to be free of rats.
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New Zealand has announced that by 2050 it aims to eradicate all rats across its islands. Paris could take a leaf out of NZ’s playbook rather than making friends with rodents.
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