Faroe Islands aim to eradicate rats

The Faroe Islands’ end goal is to become rat-free, Kringvarp Føroya reported. Rats are currently absent from 11 of the islands.

The plan is not to take rat control away from municipalities, but to strengthen the shared framework, coordination, knowledge base and expertise so that the government, municipalities, businesses and others can work together.

Government minister Eyðdis Hartmann Niclasen said this in response to a question from Fía Selma Nielsen, a member of the Løgting, the Faroese parliament. She said rat control had become more preventive, organised and knowledge-based in recent years, with progress made over the past five years.

Niclasen also said it was a common misunderstanding that the problem could be solved with poison alone. Once an effective system for coordination, registration, monitoring, prevention and professional expertise is well established, authorities could also consider the possibility of eradication.

Such measures would be demanding and expensive, she said, requiring a specific political decision and the necessary funding.