Re:New Zealand’s crusade to rid itself of mammals
by lackstein on Monday December 15, 2014 @11:59PM
(#8755909)
Wiping out rats is possible. While not exactly the same situation, the Canadian province of Alberta is rat-free due to an aggressive program to prevent and contain infestations [0].
[0] http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agd...
Re:New Zealand’s crusade to rid itself of mammals
by Semiapies on Tuesday December 16, 2014 @01:22AM
(#8756081)
Alberta is not a very welcoming environment to the human-dependent Norway rats that article talks in the first place. It's a huge, empty area that, for those rats, is a barren wasteland with a few tiny oases of human population - and the Albertans still have to constantly clean out new infestations.
New Zealand is vastly more welcoming to the invasive species it has. In a decade or three, they'll call it "good enough" on the mainland islands and spend a great deal of effort in perpetuity to keep pest levels under a modicum of control.
Wiping out rats? The Apollo program? I know it's a small country, but wiping out rodents is both hopelessly petty and hopelessly grandiose at the same time. Spoiler: The mammals will win.