We do hope this article could contribute to the ongoing discussion on dealing with rats initiated by FN. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre Ph:2252660 Website: www.goadesc.org Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Press Clippings on the web: http://www.goadesc.org/mem/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- Using owls to kill rats - the Orissa way -------------------------------------------------- By Jatindra Dash, Indo-Asian News Service
credit: http://in.news.yahoo.com//040125/43/2b4ei.html
Bhubaneswar, Jan 25 (IANS) Orissa has turned to owls to kill rats, aping a Malaysian idea that could help India save millions of tonnes of foodgrain that is lost annually to rodents.
Employing what is called the bio-control method, the Wildlife Society of Orissa used bamboo stakes to erect 20 perching posts for owls in a half-acre plot of ripening paddy in October- November last year.
At the end of the experiment, rat burrows in the plot were dug up.
Not only were there no rodents, there was no paddy in the holes - indicating the area was free of the marauders, said Biswajit Mohanty of The Wildlife Society.
The experiment was conducted in a village in Dhenkanal district under the guidance of D. Lenka, a former dean of the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology.
The bio-control method, introduced in Malaysia in the 1980s, was environment-friendly as it eliminated the use of poisons, the only other way of eliminating field rats, explained Mohanty.
Every year, some 7 to 8 million tonnes of foodgrain is lost to rats, which ravage fields and store the grain in their burrows.
The animals are rapid breeders and a single adult pair can produce 500 offspring in a single year, Mohanty said.
Against this, a pair of breeding owls - and the 5-6 chicks they produce in a year - can eliminate up to 3,000 rats in a year, he added.
The only problem was that perching spots for the birds were few and far between in most agricultural fields. This could be overcome by physically constructing the perching posts.
Apart from owls, eagles and kites could also be used to control the marauding rats, Mohanty added.
The use of poisons, according to him, had not only failed to control the rat population but also killed predatory birds that ate the poisoned rats.
Besides, the toxins also killed creatures like lizards and frogs that inhabit the fields.
Widespread use of harmful poisons also led to contamination of the soil and water.
Poaching had already decimated snakes, the other natural enemy of rats. ======================================= GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 Tel: 2252660 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] website: www.goadesc.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy =======================================
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