The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department today said it successfully finished the first round of this year’s eight-week anti-rodent exercise in designated target areas.

During the operations, which started on May 2, the department 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.

It placed poisonous bait at 11,019 locations, laid 34,948 traps and plugged 547 rat holes, resulting 1,060 dead rodents collected and 1,024 rodents caught in traps. The total number of rodents collected and caught increased 10.8% compared with the last round of operations.

“The department also conducted a trial by including an enhanced version of the anti-rodent operations in designated target areas in Central & Western, Southern, Tsuen Wan, Tai Po, Wong Tai Sin and Kowloon City districts to cover more rodent blackspots, 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.

“Departmental staff also enhanced street cleaning services and the cleaning of public markets and hawker bazaars in the target areas, including sweeping and washing streets and rear lanes, and clearing refuse and waste on the streets in public markets and at hawker bazaars to keep the environment clean.”

To enhance public education and publicity, the department arranged 234 health promotion and publicity activities for building management companies of private buildings, people in charge of food premises and market and hawker stall operators to provide information and technical advice on rodent prevention and control.

As for enforcement, the staff inspected markets, hawker bazaars, cooked food markets and food premises. Actions were taken against those causing poor environmental hygiene conditions, food preparation and scullery at rear lanes, and improper storage of articles and illegal dumping of refuse.

“During the eight-week operations, the department conducted 20,757 inspections and issued 2,718 health advisories, 2,159 verbal warnings, one warning letter and 833 fixed penalty notices, and took out 58 prosecutions.”

Furthermore, the department today began the second phase of the citywide anti-rodent campaign that will last for 10 weeks to strengthen the collaboration of departments and raise the public awareness of rodent prevention.

Citizens are encouraged to join the campaign and eliminate the three fundamental survival conditions of rodents in everyday life, the department noted.

This can be done through the elimination of the food sources and hiding places of rodents as well as blockage of their dispersal routes, it explained.