The Region E has fended off the recent reactions to its introduction of more owls in Alexandra as part of its anti-rodent campaign.
This was done by regional director Liziwe Ntshinga Makoro at a recent interview with this paper. The owls were introduced to kill rats which have colonised Alexandra, raising concerns of health hazards for the residents. The owls were first introduced some years ago and some of them were allegedly killed by residents partly because of cultural beliefs which associate them with witchcraft.
The recent delivery of more owls raised concern of their safety and also reservations about their impact on thousands of rats which recently were in the limelight for causing injuries to babies.
Makoro said the criticism of the owls project was misplaced and isolated from the broad anti-rodent strategy of the city. The strategy, she said, includes the use of rat cages and fumigation which have successfully trapped and destroyed thousands of rats. Also, it includes the continuing health and hygiene education and awareness programmes. She said the programmes conducted by the Environmental Health Department were through workshops for residents and for children at schools, where myths on the owls were dispelled.
She said this multi-pronged strategy enabled the city to also destroy other rodents besides the rats and in the process, reduced chances of residents contracting other diseases.
Makoro stressed that the city’s strategy would be more successful if the residents used the education gained from the workshop to improve their surroundings. “The workshops educate them on proper health and hygiene within households and in the community. They are also taught about health risks from overcrowding and from polluting their environment.” Makoro urged the residents to adopt more positive attitudes about their personal cleanliness and to desist from polluting the streets and drainage systems, which eventually polluted the Jukskei river which was costly for the city to rehabilitate.
Related articles:
Alex residents kill owls because they are used for ‘witchcraft’
Find new ways to control the breeding process of rats, urges DA
