Posted on 08/28/2013 6:54:18 PM PDT by TexGrill
Pest control in Xinjiang seems to work, but many fear felines will freeze
Hundreds of stray cats have been released in northwestern China's prairies to control the region's rat rampage, but the effort has sparkled online debate and concern.
In early August, eight stray cats were released in rat-plagued grassland in Bole, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. They are among a group of around 100 cats that have been introduced this year to control the prairie's rat population.
The city's prairie workstation started introducing urban strays for rat control as early as 2011. So far, more than 600 stray cats have been released into some 5,300 hectares of rat-infested grasslands around the city.
"There are a large number of stray cats in our city. We think using them to eradicate the rodent population on the prairie can be a win-win solution," said Guan Tingxian, head of the city's prairie workstation.
Prairie rats eat grass roots and burrow into the grassland, which can increase desertification.
As in many places in China, local residents in Bole typically use traps or poison for rat control.
However, these methods have been less than effective, especially poison, which not only causes pollution but also harms livestock and predators such as foxes and eagles.
Over the past three years, the use of strays to control prairie rats has appeared to be effective, as cats are often seen hunting and catching the rats.
(Excerpt) Read more at english.peopledaily.com.cn ...
Using twenty buckets and emptying them often enough, BTW, 40 acres could probably be cleared within about a week during summer.
I forgot to mention one more thing. The prairie dogs here are carrying Bubonic Plague. There are no fleas at these high elevations, but the Plague is communicable to humans from the rodents in several ways (pets, other contact, etc.).
LOL! That song started playing in my head after reading that headline.
I would like to read a little of that sparkling debate.
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