Taipei is facing a severe rat infestation, and the city government is reportedly considering large-scale use of rodenticides as its primary control measure.
However, this move could trigger an ecological disaster, including mass deaths of birds of prey.
In the past, black kites, relatives of eagles, took more than three decades to return to the skies above the Taipei Basin.
Taiwan’s black kite population was nearly wiped out by the combined effects of habitat destruction, pesticides and rodenticides.
By 1992, fewer than 200 black kites remained on the island. Fortunately, thanks to more than 30 years of collective effort to preserve their remaining habitats and ban highly toxic pesticides, their numbers have steadily increased.
Now, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) lazy and perfunctory plan to widely distribute rodenticide risks devastating the entire ecosystem.
According to last year’s dusk emergence survey for black kites released by the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, the population of black kites had reached a record high of 1,033.
Dusk roosting of black kites was also recorded in Keelung’s Shenao (深澳) and Rueibin (瑞濱) areas for the first time since 1994, which not only indicates a rebound in the black kite population, but also their gradual expansion into surrounding areas. This achievement reflects the significant success of the joint efforts between government agencies and civil society to promote wildlife-friendly architecture and ecological conservation measures.
On clear days, black kites can even occasionally be spotted soaring overhead in the Greater Taipei area or the mountainous regions surrounding New Taipei City — a truly remarkable sight.
Rodenticides can cause significant damage to ecosystems, as rodents that die from poisoned bait might, in turn, become the final meal of the animals that naturally prey on them.
In the past, people in China complained about an overabundance of sparrows. In response, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東) in 1958 launched a nationwide campaign to eradicate sparrows (along with rats, mosquitoes and flies), employing gongs and drums, hunting rifles, air guns and slingshots.
From cities to rural areas, sparrows were collectively hunted down by workers, farmers, soldiers and students, causing a severe ecological imbalance.
The extinction of sparrows led to insect infestations and crop failure, and is cited as one of the factors that contributed to the Great Famine, which ultimately resulted in about 40 million deaths, making it the largest and deadliest famine in human history.
Are these lessons still not enough? The Taipei Department of Environmental Protection has emphasized that it is using rodenticides approved by the central government.
However, does the fact that a poison is officially approved justify its indiscriminate or large-scale deployment? Residential areas and all types of public spaces — including restaurants, hotels, street vendors, markets and food-processing facilities — should instead improve environmental sanitation efforts and earnestly remove food sources for rodents, such as kitchen waste and garbage.
So long as there are no artificial food sources available, rats are far less likely to appear in places where they should not be.
As for wild rodent populations, a moderate level of reproduction is a natural part of the ecosystem; thus, they should not be completely eradicated.
Doing so could cause unpredictable ecological consequences that would ultimately circle back to harm us all.
Furthermore, the widespread placement of rodenticides poses a significant risk of accidental ingestion by pets such as cats and dogs, and even by young children.
Even if the poison contains bittering agents that are designed to repel cats and dogs, this only reduces the likelihood of exposure.
It is impossible to eliminate the inherent danger.
There have also been reports of people intentionally leaving kitchen waste or breadcrumbs outside to feed stray cats and dogs.
This is a practice which environmental authorities must strictly crack down on.
Wang Chih-shao is a political consultant for the Taiwan Solidarity Union.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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