Snakes deployed to prey on paddy rats

YOGYAKARTA: Yogyakarta Deputy Governor Pakualam IX released on Thursday dozens of snakes in order to help wipe out rats in the rice fields of Minggir district, Sleman regency.

Rats have been blamed for a great amount of the crop damage in the area over the last five years.

The snakes species include Reticulatus Phyton, Petias Coros and Phyton.

"The snakes have been released in order to reduce the rat population in the paddy fields," Pakualam explained.

Suryadi, 40, a farmer at Jatan subdistrict in Minggir district said that the farmers in the area had actually used various ways to stamp out rats from their paddy fields, including pesticides.

"But, none of those things has been effective enough. We hope that the release of snakes can provide a breakthrough with the rat problem," he said.

It was the second such release in Java recently, after Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X presided over a similar event last year in Sleman regency where over 100 snakes were introduced into the fields. -- JP