Rats could be seen Monday evening frolicking happily in the snow at Émilie-Gamelin Park in downtown Montreal, indifferent to the dozens of pedestrians passing by.
In a video captured around 5:30 p.m. in the park at the corner of Berry and Sainte-Catherine streets, a few rodents can be seen making their way through the powder snow that fell over the weekend.
Animals can also be seen sneaking through crevices or tunnels dug under park infrastructure.
The rat population has exploded downtown since the start of the pandemic, with rodents reproducing rapidly, notably thanks to the ban on a pesticide on January 1, 2022.
Exterminators interviewed by the “Journal de Montréal” last October were worried about the rapid proliferation of vermin.
“This summer, interventions for mice and rats accounted for 75% of our work. Usually, at the same period, it is a great maximum 30% to 40% of our job”, had explained in particular Frank Pulcuni, owner of Centrale Extermination.
The City then defended its decision to ban 36 molecules used in the composition of products against rats, citing a concern to protect the environment.
However, the administration of Mayor Valérie Plante had to backtrack last week and resolve to reauthorize the use of diphacinone, a rodenticide that causes the death of rodents by causing internal bleeding in the body of animals.