Bangkok overrun by a million rats – lack of snakes and lazy cats to blame!

The policy of catching snakes in residential areas of Bangkok and shifting them out to the countryside is being blamed for an explosion in the rat population.

Some 5,500 pythons have been relocated since the start of last year and an environmental expert has said that has meant there are at least a million rats running about the capital.

There is plentiful food too and cats are also being blamed for not working hard enough.

Thai Rath reported that last year year 4,519 pythons and some other snakes were rounded up in Bangkok. Yanawa district in the south-east of the city had the most with 786 followed by Hua Mark with 627 and Bang Khun Thian 608.

In the first four months of 2018 881 pythons and 18 water monitors have been rounded up along with other snakes totaling 913 relocations to the national parks and countryside.

Hua Mark had 142, Bang Khun Thian 114 and Yanawa 70.

Environmental expert Suphasorn Pathumratanathan said that since the start of 2017 this meant that around 5,500 predators of rats had been moved out of the city.

They could be expected to eat 600,000 rats in that time. So it was no wonder that the population of rodents in the city would now be topping at least a million.

Cats are also pampered too much these days and not doing their share of rat catching.

Thai Visa / Thai Rath

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