Relationship status: It’s complicated

/

As a sanctuary, we have an obligation to our residents to always keep them safe. As humans who believe that all animals have the right to live their full natural lives, we also feel the need to ensure that any measures to keep our residents safe does not unnecessarily affect the lives of other sentient beings. And then there are rats.

Nothing to see here

Our first line of defence in controlling our rat and mice population is to make HEEFS a really boring place for them to be. We ensure food is not accessible to them, our coops have protective wire barriers to stop rodents from getting in and we have barn cats who do what barn cats do. These measures certainly help, but they do not completely eliminate rats and mice from being not just a nuisance, but a hazard to the Sanctuary and our residents, by chewing on cords which presents a major fire hazard. And, if they do happen to find a way into one of our coops – usually scurrying in while the door is open, it could result in the death of some of our birds.

We’re not running a daycare here!

Did you know that rodents will typically have six litters a year with the pups reaching maturity in just a couple of months? What that means is that two rats can very quickly grow to almost 1,000 rats in just one year! And that is the key to solving our rodent problem.

Taking control…birth control!

We have found a humane way to minimize rodent breeding that is both nontoxic and nonpolluting. Using safe and natural botanical extracts added to small bits of food, we can effectively control a female rat’s ability to become pregnant. This additive is not a permanent solution and must be consumed by the rat on a regular basis to maintain the birth control efficacy. If a rodent leaves HEEFS and goes back out into the world, their natural reproductive abilities will resume.

By controlling access to our coops and ensuring food is stored securely along with this humane method of population control, we are able to manage our rodent population and ensure a safe home for all of our residents.