Hong Kong's Rat Invasion

Hong Kong's Rat Invasion

Hong Kong's central business district is facing an invasion of rats.

Between January and June, the densely populated area's rodent infestation rate rose from 0 to 17%.

Ho Yuk-yin, a consultant with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, said that the invasion was down to poor hygiene standards at restaurants in the area's old, run-down and poorly-maintained buildings and maze of dank alleyways.

Government officers are distributing pamphlets to educate restaurant workers about hygiene, food storage, rubbish disposal and rat prevention. Workers were also putting out poisoned bait.

The district is now the second-worst rat infested area in Hong Kong, behind a shopping center in rural New Territories. A rodent infestation rate above 20 percent is considered high.