Bangladesh awards farmer who killed 83,000 rats

[JonLP24]

DHAKA, Bangladesh - Bangladesh on Wednesday awarded a farmer who killed more than 83,000 rats and launched a monthlong campaign nationwide to kill millions more, to protect crops and reduce the need for food imports.

Mokhairul Islam, 40, won a first prize of a color television for killing some 83,450 rats in the past nine months in Gazipur district near the South Asian country's capital, Dhaka. He collected their tails for proof.

"I am so happy to get this honor," Islam told The Associated Press after receiving a 14-inch television and a certificate amid cheers at an official ceremony packed with 500 farmers and officials. "I had no idea that the government gives prizes for this."

"This is an exciting moment. I will continue to kill them," he vowed.

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2009/09/30/20090930bangladesh-ON.html

[gmoney]

1. this should be in place everywhere there's a rat problem

if NYC, for instance, had a $1 a head bounty on rats over a certain size, that might take a big chunk out of the rat problem... of course, then you'd get "rat breeding farms" so people could raise them to the minimum weight and slaughter them, probably getting a better return by weight than beef farmers.

nevermind, bad idea... maybe each rat gets you a lotto ticket?

[joeybee12]

2. Gee, maybe they should get some cats?

Or are we dealing with the Middle Ages mentality that got ride of cats and hence the plague came along.

[Rosie1223]

3. Really? That's over 300 rats a day

or 1 every 2 minutes given a 10 hour day.