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WILDLIFE

Malmö’s rats face death by fourteen skewers

The rats of Malmö face an uncertain future, thanks to the introduction of new spike traps in the city’s sewers.

Malmö's rats face death by fourteen skewers

The traps have been used in a pilot project in the Möllevångstorget square in the city centre. Mounted in sewers, sensors in the traps detect when a rat passes. The sensors activate a device with fourteen spikes that skewer the rats, which die instantly. The corpses are then washed down the sewers.

Each time a rat is killed, a message is sent to project managers at water company VA Syd, enabling them to monitor the effectiveness of the method.

“It feels good to be something of a pioneer. There’s food lying all over the place round here. We have lots of fast food joints and there’s always access to food,” said project engineer Göte Sernbo.

The results have so far beaten expectations – some 700 rats have so far been killed in the thirteen traps installed at the end of May. Sernbo said he believed that rat poison would eventually cease to be used. Poison is both cruel to rats and harmful to the environment, he argued, but rats need to be controlled:

“We don’t want rats as they carry an awful lot of diseases – over 50 infectious diseases,” Sernbo said.

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PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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