Paris City Government Forms Committee To Learn The Possibility Of Humans Living With Rats

Rat illustration. (Unsplash/Daniil Komov)

JAKARTA - Paris City Authority, France is trying to learn whether humans can live with mice,chanicals that have always been a problem in metropolitan cities.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo formed a committee to study "life together", to what extent humans and seamless animals can live together, one of her deputys said at a city council meeting.

Anne Souyris, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of public health, announced the move in response to questions from Geoffroy Boulard, head of Paris' 17th amendment and member of the Republican far-right party.

Boulard has asked the city government to come up with a more ambitious plan to counter the breeding of mice in public spaces.

He previously criticized the Mayor of Hidalgo, a member of a centre-left socialist party, for not doing enough to eradicate mice from Paris, including when the strike earlier this year caused garbage to pile up across the city.

"The presence of rats on the surface is dangerous for the quality of life of Parisians," said Boulard, quoted by CNN July 25.

Boulard said he raised this question after finding an ongoing study, Project Alegeddon. The mission of this project is to help the city in managing the mouse population. One of the goals is to fight bad prejudice against mice, to help Parisians live better with them.

The research is funded by the French government, although the city of Paris is a partner in this project.

Meanwhile, Souyris explained what is being studied is the extent to which humans and mice can live together in a "most efficient way, at the same time ensuring that it does not cause problems for Parisians."

Although mice can spread disease, the deputy mayor said the rat in question is not a black rat that can carry an epidemic, but another type of rat that carries a disease such as leptospirosis, a disease caused by bacteria.

Furthermore, Souyris also highlighted some of the actions taken by the city as part of its 2017 anti-rattle plans, including investing in thousands of new trash cans to "make mice return underground."

Souyris later said on Twitter that mice in Paris did not pose a "significant" public health risk. He added that he asked the French High Council of Public Health to consider the debate.

"We need scientific advice, not political press releases," he said.

Separately, the animal rights group Paris Animaux Zoopolis welcomed the city government's move.

"Tikus ada di Paris, sepertinya di semua kota besar di Prancis, sehingga pertanyaan tentang hidup bersama pasti muncul," kata sebuah pernyataan dari kelompok tersebut.

"In PAZ, when we talk about "peaceful coexistence" with mice, we don't mean to live with them in our homes and apartments, but to make sure that these animals don't suffer and we don't get disturbed. Once again, a very reasonable goal!" he said.