An increasing number of rats
in areas of the west of England are mutating to become more resistant to
commonly sold poisons, a university study has found.
Scientists at Huddersfield
University said about 75% of rats in Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire had
built up a resistance.
The most serious mutations
have affected rats in Bath and Wiltshire.
Experts have blamed the rise
on the incorrect use of poisons where dosages which are too low have been used.
Rats which are resistant to
the poison are fattened up by the bait. Those that survive then mate with other
resistant rats, allowing a generation of rats resistant to existing poisons to
build up.
Mutations have previously been
found in many parts of the UK but the Huddersfield University study is the
first time the extent of resistance has been measured in the West.
Posts
