The Halfmoon Bay school on New Zealand’s Stewart Island is teeming with little rat hunters. Children five years and older must catch and kill as many rodents as possible. Each child got their own trap made from recycled political posters.
40 students caught more than 600 rats within 100 days. Bella McRitchie-King (11) managed to catch 64 rodents and thus secured victory in the curious competition. Images from the TV channel 1Nieuws show how the children proudly hold their loot in front of the camera. Particularly large animals are also measured.
The school also awarded prizes for the most beautiful rat fur, the rat with the weirdest tail, the largest teeth and the largest rat.
More rats than birds in the trees
Rats are considered a nuisance in New Zealand. They pose a threat to the local wildlife, especially the birds. Rats, stoats, cats and other human-introduced mammals are dangerous to most New Zealand birds. New Zealand wants to eradicate rats by 2050.
“We went for a walk once and saw more rats than birds. They climbed trees to get to the birds’ nests and eat their eggs,” Bella McRitchie-King told The Guardian.
Emma Jenkinson, co-organizer of the competition, says: “The children are already heavily involved in conservation activities and so were not sensitive when it came to rat hunting.” (lrc)