By the time you’ve read this, hundreds of thousands of rats will have been born, destined to colonise our congested cities, spreading disease and economic havoc wherever they go. Why is this so? City life and misguided policies mean today’s rat is more farm animal than urban nightmare. So who’s to blame and what’s the solution? Bruce Colvin ought to know. After studying barn owls and the ecology of small mammals, he’s been battling America’s rats for 20 years. New York is just the latest in a string of US cities including Boston and Washington DC, to suffer rat hell. …
The rat catcher
27 January 2001
