Sometimes We Scare Ourselves
Some people think we're actually joking around when we provide our vital coverage of the growing Animal Uprising™. We assure our faithful readers and the mental health authorities that we are completely serious. And sane. Really. We can prove it to, except in cases where doing so would violate one of the restraining orders. The other day we warned about themed attacks by the Animal Uprising™. In that case, some wild boars attempted to celebrate the dawn of the Year of the Boar with a human roast. We also pointed out that next year was going to be the Year of the Rat.
Told ya so. They're gearing up for the party already.
It is said that you are never more than six feet from a rat but that distance could shrink further as a new report reveals that Britain's rat population is rising at an alarming rate.
The 2006 national rodent survey, published by the National Pest Technician Association (NPTA), says that there has been a "serious increase" in the number of rats in the UK.
The number of brown rat (rattus norvegicus) infestations jumped by 13% last year, showing an overall increase of 39% in rat numbers since 1998.
Even more worryingly, there was a 22% rise in the number of rat findings over the summer, a time when they are supposed to be less active than usual. In total there has been a 69% increase in rats during the summer months since records began eight years ago.
The survey of 70% of Britain's local authorities also shows that call-outs for house mice (mus domesticus) are also on the increase.
Oddly enough, the only area in Britain that did not report an increase was the Isle of Man. We could point out to the folks down in Apopka, Florida that they should count their blessings while they're counting up the mouse carcasses in the morning. But I really doubt they'd take a lot of comfort in that. And we really don't need yet another restraining order.
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Blue Crab Boulevard » Another Plot Executed Flawlessly — Saturday, 20 January , 2007 @ 3:10 pm
