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56
Prevention of Damage by Peats Act, 1949.—Under previous legislation
responsibility for the eradication of rats and mice rested with each
individual occupier, but the introduction of the Prevention of
Damage by Pests Act, 1949, whilst repealing the Rats and Mice
(Destruction) Act, 1919, and the Infestation Order, 1943 places the
onus for the destruction of these pests on Local Authorities. The
1949 Act also makes it obligatory for occupiers to notify the Local
Authority of any rodent infestation.
Rats and mice are notorious not only for the wholesale destruction
and fouling of foodstuffs and for the structural damage they
cause to buildings, but also for thair part in the spread of disease.
Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) is primarily a disease of rats and is
one which can be fatal to man. The disease is transmitted by means
of food, dust, mud, slime and water which has been contaminated
by urine or faeces from infected rats. Efficient rodent control is the
first and most important defence against this type of disease.
The following report was submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture
and Fisheries for the 12 months ended 31st March, 1956 :—