Rats Get Set To Mass Populate And €˜Overrun’ Historic Town After Council Bans Killing Of Rodents Through Poison.&Nbsp;

A HISTORIC town faces being “overrun” by a rats after its council banned killing rodents through the use of poison.

Poison traps have been outlawed in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire amid fears that they could kill protected species such as birds of prey.

The town council has been slammed as “dangerous” after saying “it will, as far as the law allows, deny access to those engaged in, and otherwise prohibit, culling or hunting and other types of animal destruction on lands that it controls or manages”.

It added that “where necessary, this will include deployment of nonlethal methods of rodent control on council lands”.

Wiltshire council admitted that rat infestations are a “common problem” in rural and urban areas as they carried out more than 1,200 exterminations last year.

Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said the ban could put people’s health at risk from rodent diseases.

He said that the decision “would leave pest controllers with the ridiculous option of catching rats and releasing them to their food source”.

I don’t quite know how that would work – the town would be overrun with rats.”

Dee Ward Thompson, technical manager of the British Pest Control Association (https://bpca.org.uk/), welcomed the council’s decision to reduce its use of pesticides but warned that rodents need to be controlled when they pose a risk to human health.

A Bradford-on-Avon town council spokesperson said: “While rodents in significant quantities and in urban settings can, of course, present health and safety issues, we aim to prevent problems from occurring in the first instance, with regular monitoring and efficient waste management.

“This way we can avoid methods which could cause unnecessary suffering and distress, or the deployment of harmful chemicals.”

‘At Contego we follow CRRU guidance (https://www.thinkwildlife.org/code-of-best-practice/crru-code/) and have a list of objectives for all our pest controllers when they attend a call out. Firstly we look at the environment and carry out an environmental risk assessment. Looking at non toxic solutions including proofing and hygiene before implementing the use of poison where required in tamper proof bait stations. Poison is used as a last resort for our technicians. At Contego we always consider all factors of the problem before providing a solution to our customers. Michael Taylor, CEO, Contego