THE DESTRUCTION OF RATS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 94, 3 April 1911, Page 7

THE DESTRUCTION OF RATS

At a public meeting held at the Guildhall. London, on February 6th. under the presidency of . h.-, Lord. Mayor, a resolution was moved by Sir J. Chrichton-BroWne, seconded by Professor Sims Wood-1 head, and adopted, declaring that] effective measures should be taken l for the systematic destruction of I rats throughout the country, ’air i James Chrichton-Browne combatted the suggestion that rats were, good scavengers. There ought, he, said.' to be no scavenging work left for them to do. He pointed out that the economic aspect for < the rat problem, though less seriout than the hygienic, was important, for it had been calculated that there was one rat to every acre in England and Wales, the agricultural loss caused by the rodent amounting to as much as £15,000,000. Sir Charles McLaren moved a resolution calling upon the Government to appoint immediately a Royal Commission for the purpose of enquiring into (1) the increase of vermin and the steps to be taken for their destruction; (2) the question what creatures are or are not harmful to man and his industries ; and (3) the safety and efficiency of various viruses on the market, and other means advocated to their destruction. This was seconded by Professor Nuttall, who, while maintaining that certain viruses were quite trustworthy, said that he knew of no case in which a man Supposed to be a

competent bacteriologist had dispensed plague bacillus as an antiplague virus. Such accidents might occasionally happen if an organism found to kill the rat was put into commercial hands uncontrolled. —The resolution was carried, as was also one inviting the Council of the Royal Institute of Public Health* to take steps to give effect to both resolutions.—“ British Medical Journal.”