Cohort of rats embarrasses Helsinki

A thriving community of rats in the heart area of downtown Helsinki has become a major problem to the city's environment officials, Finish daily newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The exact location is the statue of mid-19th century author Aleksis Kivi, situated in front of the National Threater in the square east of the main railroad station, Helsingin Sanomat said.

According to the daily, rats are climbing up the trees and bushes in the vicinity at nights.

While complaints have been raised by inhabitants of the few apartment buildings in the neighbourhood, animal friendly citizens have been feeding the rats, defusing the efforts to eradicate them.

Pekka Engblom, inspector of public gardens of the city of Helsinki, said as the area is public space rat traps cannot be installed there, and no poison can be left on the ground unattended.

Public transit buses including those coming from the airport offload the passengers in front of the National Theater, and tourists arriving late at night will not be able to avoid seeing the active life around the statue.

The city has long outsourced its varmint combat to a commercial company. The company has told the city that any successful operation should encompass the neighbouring buildings, Helsingin Sanomat reported.

Helsingin Sanomat said that city officials will be meeting the company shortly to agree on a war scenario, and poison may after all be used.

Besides the extra bill for the eradication, the foundations of the statue will have to be reconstructed as they are apparently almost hollow due to devastation by the rats.

The statue is from late 1930s and considered a national heritage item.

Rats made headlines some years ago when subsidized housing type of apartment buildings were knocked down in eastern suburbs. As rats lost their dwelling space under the houses, they showed up in high numbers in parks and house yards. Endit