Rotterdam sees success with trial using ferrets to control rat population
By Simone Jacobs
A council member in Rotterdam is pushing for the municipality to establish a “ferret brigade” after an experiment involving the use of ferrets to manage the city’s rat problem proved a success.
Ferrets used to hunt rats in Rotterdam experiment
Like many densely populated cities, rats have become a nuisance in Rotterdam. The Dutch municipality received 1.441 reports of rats in public spaces in just the first six months of this year.
Since 2023, putting poison out to kill rats has been banned to prevent rats from becoming immune and to protect other animals such as birds, dogs and cats from being accidentally poisoned. With a ban on leaving food outside having little effect, another method is needed to manage the rat population - this is where ferrets, which are natural predators of rats, come in. Ferrets have been used to manage rat populations in European cities such as Etterbeek and Marseille.
According to AD, the Rotterdam council approved a trial using ferrets in February. Rat catcher Nico Kraaijeveld, along with his ferrets and dogs, were enlisted for the job. In rat hotspots, Kraaijeveld would find where the rats were gathering and release ferrets into holes where they hunt down the rats or push them towards special traps where dogs can then take care of them.
Trial with ferrets proves a success
The team of ferrets and dogs were called out about 10 times to various locations in Rotterdam, including Afrikaanderplein, Brede Hilledijk and Lijnbaan. "At Afrikaanderplein, 69 rats were caught in three hours! This is a real breakthrough. We need to keep doing this," said Leefbaar council member Benvenido van Schaik.
However, Kraaijeveld noticed that residents were particularly against the role of the dogs during the trial. "In rural areas, people are used to killing animals, but in the city, people are often opposed to it.” For this reason, the municipality is looking into using other alternatives, such as CO2 gas, for the rats that end up in the traps.
While Van Schaik believes the trial is a resounding success and is advocating for a “ferret brigade” to be employed by the city, the municipality is not making any statements about the trial yet. "The report must first be submitted to the municipal council. They will then decide whether the municipality will continue with this method," said a spokesperson.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training. Read more