| Although they live in one of the world's most crowded cities, in 1988 the residents of Malé were in danger of being outnumbered. Rats had taken on plague proportions, an estimated 50,000 scurried through the streets of the capital. They were attracted to the warehouses, which store the nation's entire grain supply, and the precious food in Malé's households.
The dangers of disease and wasted food prompted UNDP to provide USD 62,000 to fund the hugely successful 'Let's Get Rid of Rats' campaign. The Government of Canada also supported the scheme, carried out through the Ministry of Agriculture. The entire society was mobilised in the war against rats. Radio jingles were written, T-shirts were printed. School children were armed with bait boxes and the President himself was the first volunteer enlisted in the campaign. The rats had little chance against such a force, coordinated through the Rat Control Centre. Fifteen tons of Racumin ready bait were imported. Squads of volunteers with special identifying pins visited households to bait the darkest corners, distributing 20,000 information leaflets as they went. In six weeks, 22,016 dead rats were collected and burned. It is estimated that many more rats died in their burrows. Around 85% of the rat population was destroyed and in a follow-up survey, householders noticed that rat damage to fruits, food, grains and other food items had decreased, and that a relatively rat-free environment had been achieved. To carry on the good work, two snap traps were provided for each household in Malé and the rat control programme continues. |
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