The next time you complain about the abundance of Rattatas while playing Pokémon Go, you may want to take a closer look… especially if you’re in Mong Kok.
According to the results of a territory-wide infest-igation by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), Mong Kok has the most thriving rodent population in Hong Kong, scoring a Rodent Infestation Rate (RIR) of 9.3 percent in the first half of 2016.
Sham Shui Po comes in second at 7.7 percent, while a 7.1 percent RIR was recorded in the Central & Western District during the first half of the year.
An FEHD spokesperson said, “The relatively higher RIRs in some districts were mainly caused by poor hygiene conditions at specific spots and rear lanes, including the accumulation of disused articles, indiscriminate disposal of refuse and improper handling of food remnants.”
Conversely, the least rodent-infested districts in Hong Kong were listed as the Outlying Islands (0 percent), Sha Tin, and Tai Po (both 0.9 percent). All districts scored under 10 percent, which indicates that rodent infestation is “not extensive”.
Hong Kong’s average RIR for the first half of 2016 was 4.2 percent, in comparison to a 2.8 percent rate during the second half of 2015, and a 3 percent rate for the entirety of 2015.
The FEHD will be increasing inspections and rodent prevention and control measures at hotspots such as markets, municipal services buildings, hawker bazaars, typhoon shelters, and lanes next to food premises.
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