their cargoes was done with sulphur dioxide by means of a Clayton
apparatus, and vessels equipped with this apparatus, and those having
physicians aboard, had the advantage of being able to start
disinfection twenty-four hours before arrival at port, this process
having been recognized as sufficient compliance with the quarantine
laws of Germany.
MEASURES AGAINST RATS AT THE PORT OF ROTTERDAM.
In the report from Consul-General S. Listoe it was stated that the
extermination of rats had not been officially undertaken by the
authorities of Rotterdam, either in the port or aboard incoming ships.
The question had been investigated, however, and the harbor master had
strongly advised the installation of a fumigating machine, which would
be installed on one of the numerous river police boats. Ship owners
had, for their own protection, caused their ships to be occasionally
fumigated, and two of the well-known lines had fitted out some of
their steamers with fumigating apparatus.
DESTRUCTION OF RATS AT ANTWERP, BELGIUM.
Consul-General H. W. Diedrich stated that no official action had been
taken in the port of Antwerp for the extermination of rats, but that
every vessel entering the port had to pass the sanitary station at
Doel, and there was authority to hold up any suspected vessel and to
insist on fumigation for the destruction of rats.
DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN DENMARK.
As a result of the agitation started in 1898, the following law was
passed and signed by the King of Denmark on March 22, 1907:
1. When an association constituted for the purpose of effecting the
systematic destruction of rats has proved to the satisfaction of the
minister of the interior that it is in a position to expend on the
furtherance of its objects, within a period of three years, a sum of
not less than 10,000 kroner per annum, it shall become incumbent
upon each local authority to make suitable arrangements at the
expense of the local funds, and commencing with a date to be made
known hereafter by the minister of the interior, for the reception
and the destruction of all rats killed within the district of such
authority and delivered up to such authority.
For each rat delivered up each local authority shall pay a premium,
for the payment of which an annual grant shall be made out of the
local funds, which shall be not less than three kroner per each
hundred inhabitants within the district of each local authority,
according to the then last general census.
The State shall make for a period of three years an annual grant of
30,000 kroner, of which one-third may be expended on scientific
experiments with preparations for the extermination of rats, under
the control of, and in consultation with, the Royal Veterinary and
Agricultural College, while the remainder shall be expended on
purchasing preparations for the extermination of rats, which shall
be either employed on or in public lands or buildings, or out of
which remainder grants may be made to associations toward the
purchase of such preparations, in a manner to be defined hereafter
by the minister of the interior.
2. Each local authority shall fix the amount of the premium (sec. 1)
which shall not, however, be more than 10 oere or less than 5 oere.
Instructions for the collection and destruction of the rats killed
will be issued by the minister of the interior.
3. The association cited in section 1 shall submit for the sanction
by the minister of the interior at the beginning of each year a plan
showing the proposed expenditure, and at the end of each year an
account of the money expended by it, together with statistics
obtained by it showing the expenditure on premiums made by each
local authority.
4. Where the proprietor or occupier of a messuage has participated
in the grant to be made by the State (sec. 1), he shall not deliver
up, or cause to be delivered up, for the purpose of obtaining a
premium or premiums, rats killed within the said messuage, until the
expiration of one month from the employment of such preparation for
which such grant has been made. Any person acting in contravention
of this section shall be liable to a penalty of 100 to 500 kroner.
5. Any person who preserves or breeds rats or imports rats from
abroad, in order to obtain premiums or enable another person to
obtain them, shall be liable to a penalty of 100 to 500 kroner,
unless he is liable to a higher penalty under the common law. A
person who shall deliver up rats knowing them to have been
preserved, bred, or imported for the purpose of obtaining a premium
shall be liable to the same penalties.
All proceedings under this act shall be taken in a public police
court, the fines to go to the special funds provided by this act, or
where such fund does not exist, to the public funds of such local
authority.
Any person delivering up rats to any other local authority than to
that within the district of which they have been caught shall be
liable to a penalty not exceeding 100 kroner.
This act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed hereafter
by the minister of the interior and remain in operation for three
years.
In the session of the Riksdag immediately preceding the expiration
of this law a vote shall be taken for the renewal or revision of
this law.
The Government is authorized by royal rescript to make such
alterations in the operations of this law within the Faroe Islands
as may be considered most suitable, having regard to the special
conditions obtaining within those islands.
Following the enactment of this law, there was issued by the ministry
of the interior May 1, 1907, a circular to the local authorities on
the subject.
CIRCULAR TO THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES.
Whereas the Association for the Authorized Extermination of Rats has
proved to the satisfaction of the ministry of the interior that it
is in a position to expend on the furtherance of its objects not
less than 10,000 kroner within a period of three years, it is hereby
requested, in pursuance of act No. 59, of the 22d March, 1907 (see
public notice dated this day), and commencing with the 1st day of
July of this year each local authority shall at its own expense take
all such measures as may be necessary for the reception and
destruction of all rats killed within the district of such authority
and delivered up to it. For the purpose of paying a premium for each
rat delivered up each local authority shall out of the common funds
make an annual grant which shall be not less than 3 kroner for each
hundred inhabitants, according to the then last general census,
should the amount required for the payment of premiums make such
grant necessary. It shall be left to each local authority to decide
whether further grants shall be made toward this purpose. The
premium to be paid for each rat delivered up shall not be more than
10 oere or less than 5 oere, and shall be fixed by each local
authority which shall give due and sufficient notice both of the
date fixed for the commencement of the operations of the law and the
premium to be paid. As far as possible, a uniform rate of payment by
premium shall be fixed by local authorities within the same county.
Rats may not be delivered up to any local authority but to that
within the district of which they have been caught; any person
acting in contravention (par. 5 of the aforementioned law) shall be
liable to a penalty not exceeding 100 kroner.
The chairman of the councils of the various local authorities are
hereby requested to take steps for the discussion and carrying out
of the provisions of this law.
If the grant made by any local authority for the purposes of this
law should prove insufficient for the payment of premiums on all
rats delivered up, such authority may apply to the Association for
the Authorized Extermination of Rats, Colbjornsengade 14, Copenhagen
B, for a subsidy, this association having undertaken to organize the
obtaining of voluntary subscriptions for the carrying out of the
purposes of this act.
The said association is further prepared, at the request of local
authorities, to render expert assistance in commencing and carrying
through operations under this act.
For the collection and destruction of rats killed the ministry of
the interior issues the following instructions:
A.—THE LARGER TOWNS.
_Collecting depots._—The local authorities shall provide a
sufficient number of places suitable for collecting depots. Such
depots must not be within any place where food or clothing is made
or offered for sale. Fire brigade stations are considered most
suitable for collecting depots.
The collecting may suitably be done in the manner that for each
depot a number of receptacles are provided, made of galvanized iron
and furnished with a tight-fitting lid. Into these receptacles the
rats are to be thrown after their tails have been cut off. The tails
are to be kept in a separate tin box. All receptacles and boxes are
to be collected daily and to be replaced by empty receptacles. The
full receptacles are to be taken to the place where the destruction
of the rats is effected.
Further advice on the purchase of such receptacles and the apparatus
for cutting off their tails will be given by the Association for the
Authorized Extermination of Rats at the request of a local
authority.
The destruction may be effected either by cremating the dead
rats—for instance, at the municipal gas works—or by burying the
carcasses in the open, at a sufficient distance from the town,
unless this course is prohibited by local sanitary considerations.
It is recommended that the local authority act in this manner always
with the local health committee.
B.—THE SMALLER TOWNS.
Instead of opening a fixed depot, it would appear more suitable in
the smaller towns to provide a collecting cart. Any horse-drawn
vehicle would serve the purpose as long at it is furnished with a
fixed apparatus for cutting off the tails and a receptacle of
galvanized iron for receiving the carcasses of the rats. The vehicle
should also be fitted with a bell, to announce the arrival and
presence of the collecting cart.
The destruction of the carcasses is to be effected in the manner
described under A.
C.—THE VILLAGES.
The authorities in the villages shall appoint a suitable person to
receive the rats delivered up, for which work he shall be paid an
adequate remuneration. Such persons must be supplied with an
apparatus for cutting off the tails of rats handed in. After the
tails have been cut off, the rats may be buried in a suitable place
without delay. It is most undesirable that any person engaged in the
carrying of milk or other foodstuffs be asked to convey rats to the
persons appointed to receive them. Villages in close proximity to
towns are advised to make arrangements for the cremation of the rats
at the municipal gas works.
In the case of villages whose buildings approximate those of a town
it is recommended that the regulations given for towns are adopted.
Respecting the payment of the premiums it is recommended that the
person in charge of a collecting depot or otherwise appointed to
receive rats is supplied with a fixed amount of petty cash, out of
which he pays the premium for each rat delivered up. The tails cut
from the rats serve as a receipt for the payment made, so that the
total amount of tails will be a discharge for the total amount of
petty cash received and paid out in premiums.
In order to prevent abuse it is particularly requested that the
local authorities take care that the rat tails are destroyed in an
efficient manner as soon as they have served the purpose of control
and checking.
For the purpose of keeping satisfactory accounts the Association for
the Authorized Extermination of Rats has on sale specially arranged
account books which are recommended by the ministry of the interior.
As in accordance with paragraph 3 of the law of 22d March, 1907, it
is the duty of the Association for the Authorized Extermination of
Rats to submit to the ministry of the interior a report on the money
expended in the whole of the kingdom on such premiums, the local
authorities are hereby desired to make a quarterly return to the
aforementioned association on the number of rats killed within the
district of each authority in each month of the quarter covered by
such return and on the money paid out for premiums. Forms for such
returns will be supplied by the association.
Any associations which in accordance with terms of paragraph 1 of
the law of 22d March, 1907, desire to participate in the grant made
by the State for the purpose of purchasing preparations for the
extermination of rats (ratin, etc.) must send a request to that
effect to the minister of the interior, together with a statement
showing the approximate cost of the proposed campaign and the amount
at the disposal of the association for that purpose. As this law is
essentially of an experimental character, the requests of all such
associations will be treated as preferential, which show that the
proposed extermination may be easily and successfully effected (as,
for instance, on small islands).
A number of copies of this circular will be forwarded to each local
authority.
DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN SWEDISH PORTS.
Consul W. H. Robertson at Gothenburg, Sweden, quoted the city
physician to the effect that “upon the appearance of plague in Great
Britain the city council decided in April and November, 1901, to make
an appropriation of $2,680 for an attempt to reduce the number of rats
within the community.” These attempts were continued during the period
May, 1901, to September, 1902, 2.68 cents being paid for each rat
caught. Any unusual mortality among rats on board a vessel coming from
a plague-infected port was being dealt with in accordance with a royal
proclamation of June 16, 1905.
In Malmo, according to the consular agent, the authorities during the
past seven years had given a premium for every rat killed during the
first five years, 2.68 cents for each rat, but during the past two
years only half of that amount.
DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN ENGLISH PORTS.
The Local Government Board has issued regulations for the prevention
of plague and certain other diseases. One of these regulations is as
follows:
The master of a ship which by reason of plague is an infected ship,
or a suspected ship, or which has come from, or has during the
voyage called at, a port infected with plague, or in which there are
rats infected with plague, or in which there is or has been during
the voyage an unusual mortality among rats, shall, under the
direction and to the satisfaction of the medical officer of health,
take all such precautions or employ all such means for effectually
stopping the access of rats from the ship to the shore as in the
opinion of the medical officer of health are measures reasonably
necessary for the prevention of danger arising to public health from
the ship.
In accordance with this regulation, notice was given in a circular
issued by the medical officer of health of the port of London of the
precautions necessary for stopping the access of rats from ship to
shore in that port. These precautions were outlined as follows:
1. All ropes and mooring tackle for securing the vessel either to
the shore or mooring buoys shall be fitted with metal brushes,
funnels, or other effective guards, the portions of such ropes and
mooring tackle leading from the vessel to a distance from the
vessel’s side of at least 4 feet shall be coated each night with
fresh tar. Ropes may, if desired, be protected by a covering of
canvas or yarns before tarring.
2. When not engaged in discharging cargo, one gangway only shall be
permitted to afford means of communication between the ship and the
shore.
3. The end of the gangway near the ship shall be whitened for a
length of 10 feet, and the watchman shall keep the gangway pulled
inboard after sunset, or it shall be guarded in some approved
manner.
4. When alongside the quay, the ports on the side of the vessel
nearest the quay shall be kept closed after sunset.
5. All empty cases and barrels, especially those from the
storerooms, shall be examined before being landed, to insure that no
rats are contained therein.
6. It is recommended that all possible means be adopted for catching
and destroying rats, both on the voyage and during the stay of the
vessel in port. Any rats so caught shall be killed, then placed in a
bucket of strong disinfecting solution, and afterwards burnt in the
ship’s furnace.
7. No rats, alive or dead, are to be removed from the ship without
my permission in writing.
In London, the practice of destroying rats on the docks had been
systematically carried out by the dock companies at their own expense
and under the supervision of the port sanitary authority. Vice-consul
Richard Westacott reported that the destruction of rats on vessels was
provided for by regulation whenever the medical officer of health was
satisfied that such precaution against the introduction of the spread
of plague was necessary.
In Liverpool, Consul J. L. Griffiths stated that earnest endeavors
were made to capture rats by professional rat catchers. On infected or
suspected ships, special precautions were taken to prevent the escape
to the shore of rodents. On noninfected or nonsuspected ships the
medical officer of health might also require the destruction of rats,
and in this case the expense was borne by the sanitary authority. It
is evident, therefore, that the precautions taken are in accordance
with the provisions of the International Sanitary Convention of Paris.
It was the practice, at the time the consul sent his dispatch, to
maintain strict surveillance over vessels likely to develop plague
aboard until after the period of incubation had been passed.
In Southampton, according to Consul A. W. Swalm, a competent man was
employed by the dock authorities whose sole duty was to wage war on
rats. In addition, the night watchmen on all vessels were required to
perform the additional duty of trapping rats. The usual precautions to
prevent the passage of rats from ship to shore were also observed.
MEASURES AGAINST RATS AT AUSTRALIAN PORTS.
The following are the regulations issued under the quarantine act of
1908 by the commonwealth of Australia relating to the ingress to and
egress from vessels of rats and mice; the destruction of rats, mice,
and other vermin; and precautions against the introduction of vermin
from plague-infested places.
136. (1) The master or owner of every vessel shall—
(_a_) Effectively obstruct—against the migration of rats—by means of
stout wire netting, all pipes, ports, cabin scuttles, and other
openings or holes in the side of the vessel next to the wharf, and
also when cargo is being discharged into lighters, in the side next
to the lighters, and keep them so obstructed while the vessel is
alongside the wharf or lighters;
(_b_) Prevent any organic refuse, galley scraps and waste from being
discharged into the waters or on the wharfs of any port.
(2) The master or owner of any vessel arriving in any port in
Australia from any place proclaimed infected with plague, or as a
place from or through which plague may be brought or carried, under
section 12 of the quarantine act, 1908, shall—
(_a_) Produce to the quarantine officer a certificate showing that
an efficient fumigation of such vessel while empty had been carried
out prior to departure. Such certificate, in the case of an oversea
vessel, must (if the port of departure be within the British
dominions) be signed by the health officer of the port; or, when
such port is a foreign port, by the British consul. In the case of
an interstate vessel the certificate must be signed by a quarantine
officer. In the absence of such certificate the quarantine officer
may require the cargo to be discharged in the stream. Efficient
fumigation in this regulation shall mean fumigation as specified in
regulation 137 (2) _b_;
(_b_) Suspend or cause to be suspended over the side of the vessel
against the wharf, or against any lighter alongside, electric or
other effective lights, distributed so as to afford from sunset to
sunrise thorough illumination fore and aft along the whole side of
the vessel.
137. (1) The owner or master of any vessel shall—
(_a_) Keep all foodstuffs and food refuse in rat-proof and
mouse-proof receptacles;
(_b_) Thoroughly flush out and afterwards empty the bilges before
berthing at any port;
(_c_) Keep on board the vessel a dog or a cat—or both—efficient for
rat and mouse killing, and give it or them constant access to those
parts of the vessel where rats or mice may harbor;
(_d_) Set and keep set in sufficient numbers and in suitable places
metal break-back traps or other effective traps for rats and mice;
and
(2) When so ordered by a quarantine officer, shall—
(_a_) Lay on the vessel poison baits effective for rats and mice;
(_b_) Submit the holds and other such parts of the vessel as the
quarantine officer directs to sulphur fumigation in accordance with
this regulation, or to some other method of fumigation approved by
the director of quarantine. Sulphur fumigation shall be effected by
passing sulphur fumes into the vessel under pressure, and at the
same time exhausting the air in the parts of the vessel under
fumigation, and shall be continued until all parts of the vessel
under fumigation are filled with a gaseous mixture of a strength of
not less than 3 per cent of sulphur oxides, and are kept so filled
for at least eight hours.
The fumigation shall, if the quarantine officer so orders, be
carried out in the stream or away from a wharf.
(_c_) Clean, wash, or spray all portions of the vessel likely to
harbor or afford shelter to vermin, with an approved insecticidal
solution effective for the killing of fleas, lice, bugs, and other
vermin; and
(_d_) Flush, cleanse, disinfect, or empty all lavatories, water
tanks, or any closed-in space on board the vessel, and cause to be
produced for disinfection any articles desired by the quarantine
officer.
In Sydney, it was stated by the president of the department of public
health that steady, systematic poisoning and trapping of rats were
done all the year round, and that this had been the case for the past
eight years. The experience there had been that mineral poisons were
found to answer best, and that organic viruses had been found to be
not practically successful.
In Melbourne, rat destruction was carried on by the board of public
health of Victoria and by the local health authorities under the
Victorian health act of 1890. As stated in the report of Consul J. M.
Jewell, the board of public health restricts its operations to
shipping wharves, to shores, and banks of the River Yarra upon which
Melbourne is situated. Since 1900, the board had had a staff of men
continually engaged in distributing poison baits. In order to prevent
the passage of rats to and from vessels, certain specific berthing
restrictions were in force. In addition, fumigation of vessels was
practiced under the supervision of the board’s officers. The board had
continually urged the various municipal authorities to maintain the
crusade against rats and render dwellings rat proof.
The consul also stated that the local municipal councils paid a bonus
for every rat, and that the fee was then 4 cents.
In Adelaide, it was stated there were no compulsory regulations for
the destruction of rats, but shipping companies had cooperated with
the local sanitary authorities to keep down these rodents on the
wharves by means of poison and traps, the poison being supplied gratis
by the board of health.
In Fremantle, and other seaports of Western Australia, according to
the consul-general, men were engaged in baiting and trapping rats,
these precautions being maintained throughout the year.
MEASURES AGAINST RATS IN SOUTH AMERICAN PORTS.
In Buenos Aires it was stated by the chief of the asistencia publica
that a regular staff of 150 men was employed in the destruction of
rats and fumigation of houses. A map of the city showing houses that
had been found to contain rats was marked. In addition, a pesthouse
was maintained in which live rats were watched, and developments of
pest noted.