THEIR lives are being made difficult by big rats. And the community of Plastic View squatter camp, east of Tshwane, said they had never seen such big rats, which are almost the size of a fully grown cat.
Resident Siphiwe Mabaso (40) told Daily Sun he has seen the rats run from the bushes to their shacks.
He said the rats are scaring people, especially when they look at you.
Siphiwe said: “I have two cats which I hoped would be the answer to the rats. Unfortunately, the cats disappeared after two weeks.
“When they were around, they would just look at the rats and do nothing. I suspect they feared them. We don’t have enough cats to kill these rats and don’t want these rats in the area because they are a problem.”
Another resident, Martha Ndlovu (56), said the rats also scared the kids.
“Our plea is for something to be done to get rid of the rats. They eat our food and make holes in our shacks. We can’t place poison for them because we have dogs, chickens and children. We appeal to professionals to help us,” she said.
Some residents said the rats affected their businesses as they ate some items in their spaza shops.
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) spokeswoman Keshvi Nair said all methods of eradicating rats must be humane. “The rats should not be injured or killed by traps and once they have been caught, they can be taken to the nearest SPCA or animal welfare shelter,” she said.
She said the possible cause of the infestation typically, rodent infestations, occur in surroundings where there are large amounts of open rubbish as this is a source of food.
