A pack of Norfolk terriers went on a hunting trip, where they managed to kill 730 massive rats in 7 hours at a pig farm.
Pig farmers had to call in a pack of small Norfolk Terriers, which are also known as the Suffolk and Norfolk Rat Pack after massive rodents took over their farm.
The farmers said the rats were consistently nibbling at their food stock and were a threat to their livestock.
The dogs worked for around 7 hours and collected 730 rats.
The owners of the dogs were shocked with the haul, calling it the largest of the pack.
The Suffolk and Norfolk Rat Pack offer a free-of-charge pest control service in the South East.
The pack is trained to kill vermin.
34-year-old Ed Cook manages the service and said that the pack is dedicated to promoting traditional hunting methods.
The haul of rats happened at a pig farm near Eye, Suffolk, on January 12, 2020.
Ed said it was one of the biggest infestations they have ever seen in their life.
Ed said, “Some of these rats were almost as big as the dogs, it was incredible to watch. The dogs are incredibly brave and it’s remarkable how many rats they can catch, they just love it.”
Hunting rats is legal in the United Kingdom under the 2004 Hunting Act.
Ed insists that the method of his pest control is more human than killing the rats with poison.
Ed said dogs kill rats in a matter of seconds, where poison takes anywhere from 24 to 48 hours, causing the rats to have a slow and very painful death.
Ed explained, “When rats are poisoned it is a horrendous death and it can take up to 48 hours. It’s slow and painful. This method is traditional and brings working dogs into good use. At the longest, it takes three or four seconds for the Terriers to make the kill.”
He added, “This is what the dogs are bred for. It is in their DNA to hunt. We don’t really have to train them because it’s their instinct to catch and kill rats. All dogs will play fetch but these dogs will go to extreme lengths to catch the rats.”
He continued, “Once they are given the exposure to the rats they chase them down automatically. It’s ingrained in their DNA.”
Ed Cook runs the Suffolk and Norfolk Rat Pack, a rat control service, along with volunteers.
The group travels around the region to clear farms of vermin.
The terriers are managed by the group.
Ed calls his hunt as rewarding.
He said, “[The rats] pose a serious risk to the spread of disease and loss of earnings because of the amount of food they eat.”
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