Burnaby residents who feed wild birds are indirectly adding to the ever-growing rat population, according to Craig Wilson.
At its June 10 meeting, council heard from Wilson, who had last given an update a few years ago, about the expanding rat population around Dow Avenue, Beresford Street and Gilley Avenue.
"The reason why I'm here, your worship, is because the problem still exists, and in some areas it's worse than what it was two years ago," he told council. "One of the (other) reasons why I'm here, though, is because back in April I saw a newscast of rats in Burnaby, and (I thought) finally someone other than myself is noticing them."
But that wasn't the only reason. Wilson said there have been two incidents recently in which he killed a rat.
"I frequently see dead rats out on my walk," he added. "The principle problem is people feeding the birds and wildlife."
Wilson said he lives near Powerhouse Park, where local residents began to feed a rabbit that had moved in, which inevitably became more food for the rats.
"Two winters ago there was a rabbit living there and people started feeding it," he said. "And sure enough, within a week the rats started showing up. Not only that, I might add, they're not only attracting rats - they're attracting skunks."
Wilson said one solution for the problematic areas is proper signage.
"After I came here two years ago, signage was up everywhere," he said. "Two people in particular are ignoring the signs."
Signs aren't enough for everyone and charges should be the next step for those who ignore the warnings, Wilson noted.
"That appears to me to be the only (way) that this is going to stop," he said. "That the people who are regularly doing it are going to have to be charged. They're just openly ignoring the sign. I mean, on many occasions I've seen people standing next to the signs feeding them."
Mayor Derek Corrigan said when Wilson spoke to council about the same issue before, they tried to clear up the problem as much as possible.
"We did take you seriously a couple of years ago when you did come in and (we) did some work to try to clear out areas that we thought might be a problem," he said. "Maybe the areas you're talking about aren't necessarily under our jurisdiction. Some of them are under the jurisdiction of railway companies and TransLink."
Corrigan said the city has had issues persuading those organizations to do the necessary clean up work to keep the areas rat-free.
"It can be problematic," he added. "Particularly in the industrial areas where there's very little human population. You find the rats have set up and end up with a community there."
The other issue is that Burnaby is an ecologically diverse place because council is careful about ensuring green space - which often leads to the problem of being overrun by wildlife, Corrigan said.
"I live right next to the ravine, and I have half a dozen coyotes that walk down my streets at three o'clock in the morning regularly (that) go out and search the neighbourhood for prey," he said. "You talk about skunks, I've got one living in the garage next door."
Council asked staff to investigate the issue and prepare a follow-up report.
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