This is nothing new. Thoreau wrote about environmental protection. Emperor Ashoka mandated environmental protection throughout his empire.

i really dont understand why you need to kill the rats, even if they did eat your garden dont they have the same right to be there as you do, is it not their garden as much as it is yours?

Set up non-killing traps, like the ones that close when the rat enters to get food. But personally I find rats cool, and my garden is somewhat elevated where potential pests can't get at it.

ok, i am glad you brought this up xris. i have been having similar thoughts.

first of all, i dont know enough to believe that rats carry any more disease than any other pest, but i do see that there are a lot more of them than other charming little furry critters. so i will leave that alone for now. we live with rats in india-they are bigger than footballs and more of them in the railway station than people-and you can imagine the number of people in an indian railway station. some people do catch them in cages when they come into homes and stores eating the merchandise and staples-one fellow is a druggist and told me the rats were eating the medicine. but the majority of people here are very resistant to the idea of killing animals ever, even as mercy killing.

my compromise deal is this-no uninvited guests in my home, or i will kill them if possible, sometimes chase them out. if both options fail i will continue to harrass and annoy them until they leave of their own accord or find suitable places to hide where i dont have to look at them and cant reach them. i dont care if they have any transmittable diseases or do any damage to my property, i go by the principle that they cannot enter unless invited by me. may not be logical, moral or even sane, but it works for me.

now outside is a different matter. outside there are frogs almost as big as those football sized rats. they attract the snakes-the other day we had a cobra go up the stairway to the upstairs flat and then come back down the stairs and out the gate across from my door. i see my landlord killing snakes because they have a four year old and these snakes will definitely kill you if you surprise them. but i let them go-not that i would have the guts to chase after one and kill it anyway, but i mean to say that whatever is outside of my door is fine. if the stray dogs get any worse i may carry mace, but that is all.

i sure hope i dont have to account for this some day! i do wish i could overcome my dislike for certain creatures, it is a handicap for me and i find it totally irrational behavior on my part.

Sure, but everyone likes a good fried rat from time to time, dipped in a little salsa. I wouldn't deprive myself of my right to fried rat on a stick just because the little rodent wants to rummage in my garden.

Personal choice, I guess.

I should try that some time.

I can tell you that whilst out on a saturday night we cut down a back alley behind some restaurants and it was swarming, there were rats on top of rats, I did not hang around, they were just running infront of me. I think when it becomes out of control like this and for health reasons the numbers need to be reduced some how. Don't forget they used to carry the plague. They are a hazard to us and it was us that encouraged the species to grow in the first place. They are filthy. Happy eating btw! Yuk

They eat garbage, they are icky! They can get in to your house, it's not fun to live with a rat behind the dishwashing machine. And it's my garden, I don't want vermins (or whatever it's called) in my garden

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I know what I'm having for dinner tonight!

How many do you want?

"The squirrel you kill in jest, dies in earnest." - Henry David Thoreau

Is that near Eastbourne?

i fell the same way as you - even with ants!

anyhow, natural selection has turned us into killers along with nearly every other species, so, knock yourself out - and those silly little rats...