BISHKEK. Sept 20 (Interfax) - An unusual breed of rats is inflicting damage on Kyrgyzstan's Dzhalal-Abad region.
The rats "are killing numerous farm birds, are damaging grape and corn crops, and have destroyed 14 hectares of grain in one of the districts. These rats can climb trees and are destroying apples, pears and other fruit. The rat invasion may also give rise to different epidemics," parliament member Dooronbek Sadyrbayev told Interfax.
The rats frequently attack people and young children are especially vulnerable.
Sanitary services are unable to deal with the situation. "The enormous amount of rats cannot be estimated," he said. The rats are not susceptible to typical poisons.
An Uzbek specialist bred the species by crossing an ordinary rat with a muskrat, he said.
