After the city announced the R250 million rodent plan, and released owls in Alexandra, communities complained of the owls as they associated them with witchcraft. Van Niekerk said owls can not kill, they are the best way to control rodent infested areas.
He emphasised that residents must deny rodents food and water, and plant trees and put up owl boxes to encourage Barn Owls settling there. “If humans could overcome the urge to damage the environment and learn to co-exist with nature, a powerful collaboration for a better future could be achieved.” Van Niekerk was speaking about the Barn Owls’ experience and the bird’s role in fighting rodent infestation.
The team has relocated 11 owlets to date in Ivory Park and sought to dispel the myth that owls are linked to witchcraft, embarking on educational campaigns in local schools to inform people about owls. Van Niekerk said the pest control team moved Barn Owls that had nestled inside council buildings in Ivory Park. “The ultimate goal as far as rodent control is concerned is the reduction of the use of harmful rodenticides by focusing on the restoration of the natural ecosystem by re-introducing natural predators,” said van Niekerk. The city’s pest control team have been trained on the handling of owls and were deployed to Midrand schools and community clinics to conduct information sessions with pupils and patients about the benefits of owls to the environment. “Barn owls catch up to two rats per evening, this amounts to about 730 rats per year.”
