South Georgia declared rat-free after world’s largest rodent eradication project

The British Overseas Territory of South Georgia is rodent-free for the first time in more than 200 years.

 

The world’s largest rodent eradication project has been declared a success, after South Georgia island in the South Atlantic has officially been declared free of all rats and mice.

 

Rodents were inadvertently introduced to the remote island of South Georgia by ships that stopped there centuries ago, usually on whaling expeditions.

 

The rats had a “devastating” effect on the island’s wildlife, forcing birds unique to the island to relocate offshore.

 

To eradicate the problem, helicopters were used to systematically drop poison pellets over a 1087 sq km area.

 

After the project was complete, three rodent detection dogs scoured almost 2500 km to sniff out any sign of the rats – none were found.

 

Chew-sticks coated with peanut butter, tracking tunnels and camera traps were also deployed.

 

Professor Mike Richardson, chairman of the project’s steering committee, said: “Over the last six months of work, not a single sign of a rodent has been found in the whole of the area we have baited.

 

“To the best of our knowledge this island is rodent-free for the first time in two and a half centuries.”