If it were April Fool's Day I wouldn't have believed this story was true, but it's confirmed on Bill's Twitter account. Here's what he said: "Rat invasion yesterday. At least 30 in garden. Mainly young. Climbing, jumping, tumbling. Quite entertaining, BUT. Called the Pied Piper."
And here's the Daily Mail version of the story, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2623027/Bill-Oddies-home-invaded-army-THIRTY-giant-rats-climbing-jumping-tumbling-garden.html
My SUPER RAT hell': Bill Oddie's home invaded by army of THIRTY giant rodents 'climbing, jumping, tumbling' in his garden... he has no qualms about killing them despite his animal-loving nature
Wildlife show presenter had plague of rodents in his north London garden He called in pest controllers after seeing around 30 of the creatures Latest to tell of invasion after larger vermin reported around the country Pest controllers say numbers rising as rats become less affected by poison
By RICHARD SPILLETT PUBLISHED: 00:46 EST, 8 May 2014 | UPDATED: 06:34 EST, 8 May 2014
Animal lover Bill Oddie has become the latest victim of the plague of so-called 'super rats' sweeping Britain. The BBC presenter
Despite being known for hosting wildlife programmes and recently condemning the killing of migrating birds, the 72-year-old called in pest controllers to get rid the creatures.
Oddie, 72, told his 32,000 Twitter followers of the 'invasion' on Sunday, after a weekend blighted by the rodents. He tweeted: 'Rat invasion yesterday. At least 30 in garden. Mainly young. Climbing, jumping, tumbling. Quite entertaining, BUT. Called the Pied Piper.'
Oddie, who lives at the house with his wife, Laura, 61, and daughter Rosie, 26, has also used his Twitter feed to back calls for hunters in Malta to stop shooting birds migrating to Britain.
His brush with the rats comes after figures revealed that in some part of the UK, the number of vermin has surged by 50 per cent since this time last year.
And experts believe the rat population could soar from 80 million to 160 million by the end of the year.
Many local authorities have shelved free pest control for homes as they battle funding cuts. And in some towns, councils have reduced bin collections to just once a month - leaving mountains of rotting rubbish to lure in the creatures.
It is feared some of the larger rats are becoming increasingly resistant to poison and are far more difficult to kill.
Pest controllers say traditional poisons are killing off rats which are susceptible, but those that survive quickly breed, creating a species immune to pesticide.
Oddie is not the first famous face to be affected by an increase in pests, Liz Hurley was said to be having a problem with mice at her Herefordhire country home earlier this year.
Oddie told of the rat problem in the same week it was announced he is to return to BBC2's Springwatch wildlife show. He was dropped from the show in late 2008 and has gone on to claim that the impact of his departure led to a spell in a psychiatric hospital.
But the BBC revealed this week that he will feature in a new series of the programme, which will be fronted by Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes-Games.
The BBC said of Oddie's involvement: 'Bill returns with his own very special look back at our wildlife and how it has fared over the past decade.' |