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Johannesburg has brought in owls to fight an invasion of rats in the city’s townships, a spokesman said Wednesday.
“Owl nesting and release boxes have been installed in three schools in Alexandra as this three-year project will be educating schools on the role owls play in eradicating rats,” city spokesman Nkosinathi Nkabinde told the Sapa news agency.
Alexandra is a poor township that sits near some of the city’s poshest neighbourhoods, including the Sandton business district that is home to the stock exchange.
“We have to eliminate the conditions in which the rodents thrive and for this we need the active co-operation of all residents of Johannesburg,” Nkabinde added, urging residents to take greater care in disposing their garbage.