The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) concluded the second round of this year's anti-rodent operations in designated target areas in all districts on December 24. The operations effectively enhanced the rodent prevention and control work at the district level. During the operations, the FEHD strengthened rodent control work at problematic spots such as rear lanes, refuse collection points, markets, hawker bazaars, cooked food markets and peripheral areas of construction sites. The FEHD placed poisonous baits at 9,366 locations, placed 26,309 traps and plugged 518 rat holes, with 871 dead rodents collected and 1,010 rodents caught in traps.

     An FEHD spokesman said, "The FEHD launched the eight-week anti-rodent operations in designated target areas on November 1, with multi-pronged strategies including improving environmental hygiene and stepping up rodent disinfestation and enforcement actions to carry out targeted rodent prevention and control work in the districts. The FEHD also conducted a trial by including an enhanced version of the anti-rodent operations in designated target areas for the first time in Sham Shui Po, Wan Chai and Yuen Long to expand the scope of rodent control, so as to cover more rodent black spots, including those in public markets and municipal services buildings, hawker bazaars and rear lanes adjacent to food premises, and to conduct large-scale and targeted anti-rodent operations. FEHD staff also enhanced street cleaning services and cleaning of public markets and hawker bazaars in the target areas including sweeping and washing of streets and rear lanes, and clearing of refuse and waste on the streets, in public markets and at hawker bazaars so as to keep the environment clean."

     The FEHD also stepped up public education and publicity, and arranged 134 health promotion and publicity activities for building management companies of private buildings, persons-in-charge of food premises and market and hawker stall operators to provide information and technical advice on rodent prevention and control.

     "In addition, the FEHD stepped up inspections of markets, hawker bazaars, cooked food markets and food premises. Enforcement actions especially against premises causing poor environmental hygiene conditions, food preparation and scullery at rear lanes, and improper storage of articles and illegal dumping of refuse were strengthened. During the eight-week operations, the FEHD conducted 20,226 inspections and issued 2,801 health advisories, 1,306 verbal warnings, five warning letters and 1,059 fixed penalty notices, and took out 103 prosecutions."

     The spokesman said that to optimise the effectiveness of the rodent prevention and control work, the first phase of the territory-wide anti-rodent campaign will start on January 3, 2022, and will last for 10 weeks to strengthen the collaboration of departments and raise the public awareness of rodent prevention. He called on all sectors of the community to continue to participate in the campaign and eliminate the three fundamental survival conditions of rodents in their daily life, namely food, harbourage and passages, i.e. the elimination of the food sources and hiding places of rodents as well as blockage of their dispersal routes, so as to work together to combat the rodent problem.

Ends/Friday, December 31, 2021
Issued at HKT 15:00

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