Rats “the size of a cat” scare tourists away from a resort town – a mass breeding of rodents could significantly reduce the number of tourists in the resort town of Tenby in Wales. The town is known for its scenery, golden sandy beaches, and the Ironman triathlon competition held in September. However, now all this is threatened by “bloody creatures”, as residents complained to the British The Sun. Tourists who met with rats are not happy.
According to the publication, the invasion of rats – and the city is simply “overrun by an army of rodents the size of a cat” – can significantly reduce the flow of tourists in the summer. The matter is complicated by the fact that the main nesting places of rats are located precisely on tourist trails and on the coast.
“Rodents have become a major problem in recent weeks and it is now a real concern. Early evenings, dusk, mornings, rats everywhere,” said local boatman Roger Miles. It was he who declared that rats “are as big as cats,” and that rat burrows are destroying some of the rushes on Castle Hill, a hill popular with tourists. Local mayor Sam Skirm-Blackhall agrees, saying she regularly spots giant rodents walking the beach sand.
So far, the fight against rats is carried out with the help of large boxes of bait containing poison – but this measure does not seem to help much. Rats are actively breeding, and besides, “they are smart animals,” experts say, and they ignore traps.
Local cafe owners and even residents are panicking – rats are found in apartments and kitchens, they “run along the paths” and generally cause inconvenience. The local tourism industry – especially after the problem was “celebrated” on social media – fears that it will greatly affect one of its sources of income – the traditional Ironman triathlon competition, which begins with a sea swim of about 5 km, starting from the beach, which ” occupied” rats. These competitions bring a profit of about 5 million pounds to the town, that is, almost 500 million in rubles – but the rats can scare away tourists who are confident in the city.
At least the publication quotes frightened tourists from Cardiff who came to enjoy the sea views. They were “horrified” when they learned of the support problem. “We just came to Tenby for the weekend but we never knew there were monster rats. It’s not unusual to find them in towns, but I never thought they could be in a place like Tenby. If God forbid, we meet with them, we will leave immediately,” they said.