Suche
Mein Konto
Rat plague in Vienna favorites: European hamster protection prevents control!
Rat infestation in the Search Wirt Park in Vienna-Favoriten: Protecting the field hamster makes combat more difficult. Current strategies of city gardens.
Rat plague in Vienna favorites: European hamster protection prevents control!
In Vienna-Favoriten, an unexpected sight is causing a stir: an attentive Viennese woman spotted several rats in the suchtwirt Park and immediately reported this to a newspaper. What surprises many people is the fact that this park enjoys special protection status because it contains European hamsters, which are strictly protected under European law and the Vienna Animal Welfare Act. However, the legal requirements significantly restrict the authorities' options for action, which creates a challenge in combating rats.
In recent years, the problems surrounding the rat population in Vienna have increased. This situation is made even more complicated by the protected status of the European hamster, which is considered critically endangered, as Tierschutz Austria has determined. The rarest wild hamster species in the world cannot be disturbed, caught or even killed, which significantly limits effective rat control measures in smaller parks.
Protective measures for field hamsters
The Vienna City Gardens are therefore working intensively on legal and effective strategies against the rat plague, in cooperation with the environmental protection department (MA 22) and specialized pest control companies. The responsibility is divided between balancing species protection and health protection. Current measures include monitoring and evaluating the rat population and developing solutions that both meet legal requirements and effectively control the rat population.
Another challenge is the preservation of the European hamsters, whose inventory was already carried out in 2015. The conservation status of the species was last examined in 2020. The European hamster is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which increases the pressure to act.
Alternative approaches to rat control
In Vienna there has been a rat ordinance since 2005 that requires rodenticides to combat rodents. However, a look beyond the borders shows that in some cities in the USA birth control is already being used to combat rat infestations. An innovative approach that city gardens could also rethink.
In addition, the German Wildlife Foundation has provided important impetus for the active protection of field hamster populations with the “Feldhamsterland” project. This project, which has been coordinated since 2018, offers guidelines to save the European hamster from extinction. The aim is to create a sustainable habitat for the small rodents through collaboration with farmers and the implementation of effective agri-environmental measures such as targeted ear harvests and flowering areas.
The challenges in Vienna are diverse. While the city gardens are trying to solve the rat problem, the protection of the European hamster remains a central concern - not only for biodiversity, but also for the quality of life of city residents.