Cambodian authorities said on Tuesday that they have acted to combat a growing mouse plague by offering a government bounty of about two cents for every mouse tail farmers can muster.
The Secretary to Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun, Sun Hean, said by telephone that mouse populations in the north-eastern province of Kampong Cham are already out of control and are threatening this season’s rice harvest.
He said the offer of a bounty on only the severed tails of the mice is meant to encourage people not to waste the rest of the mouse after they receive their reward.
”We offered bounties in other provinces before and it worked very well. Farmers collected around 10 000 mice last year in one province alone for the same bounty,” he said, adding that he toured the province with the minister and was shocked by the situation.
”We have plenty of money to pay these bounties. Do not worry. And then the people can eat their mice, or sell them to others. After they kill them and get the bounty, why not eat them?”
He said the campaign to combat the mice will also include planting other tasty crops near rice fields to distract the mice, and ringing rice paddies with large plastic sheets to keep the rodents out.
”But the third option, the bounty, is the one we will concentrate on. If the mice come to eat the rice of the people, the people can kill and eat the mice and be rewarded,” Sun Hean said.
He said the ministry is looking at making the bounty a nationwide initiative. — Sapa-DPA