More help given to town councils to address rodent problems

LAURA ELIZABETH PHILOMIN Today Online 6 Mar 15;

SINGAPORE — On the back of rodent infestation problems that have been in the news in recent months, more help will be given to town councils to tackle the problem.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) will engage pest control operators to target rats in housing estates, and maintenance and management of bin centres and refuse chutes will be improved so as to deny rodents easy access to food sources.

This comes after the NEA received 4,000 cases of feedback on rodent sightings last year, 1,000 more than in 2013.

Announcing these enhancements to the Rat Attack programme yesterday (March 4), Second Minister for Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu said: “As rodents have adapted well to our urban environment and multiply quickly in poorly managed or maintained bin centres and refuse chutes, NEA will provide more assistance to the town councils.”

Ms Fu was responding to a parliamentary question from Member of Parliament (Holland-Bukit Panjang GRC) Dr Teo Ho Pin on updates on the rodent situation and measures to eradicate them.

Rodent infestation has been in the public spotlight. In December last year, a weeks-long extermination operation had to be carried out at a mound in Bukit Batok, with more than 230 rats caught by the end.

In January, a rat carcass found in a dish in a Marina Square restaurant led to the uncovering of rodent activity at 14 of the mall’s F&B establishments.

Noting that rodents thrive in places with poor food storage and waste management practices, Ms Fu said NEA has implemented an island-wide rodent surveillance programme since 2011 to identify potential food sources, harbourages and burrowing activity for pre-emptive measures against infestations.

Food establishments and shopping malls are also inspected regularly, she added. Shopping malls are required to have rodent control programmes and proper waste management practices, while food establishments with rodent problems can have their licenses suspended or revoked with a downgraded food hygiene grading.

Ms Fu said that the NEA conducted a total of about 140,000 inspections island-wide in relation to rodent activity last year. An NEA spokesperson said the majority of these inspections were at food retail establishments.

Ms Fu added that NEA will not hesitate to take strict enforcement action against premises owners for lapses in rodent management. Last year, NEA took enforcement action against 82 errant premises owners for rodent infestations.

Stressing that the key strategy is to remove food sources and areas of harbourage, she added: “Ultimately, it is the responsibility of all stakeholders, including land owners, building management and foodshop operators, to put in place a good system of housekeeping, refuse management and routine pest control checks and treatment to ensure that the rodent population is kept under control.”