Wednesday, Jan 16, 2008
Rats in Manchester too? Who'dda thunk it?
Manchester Evening News: City's plague of rats
SWARMS of rats have infested alleyways in Manchester city centre and are gorging on restaurant waste.
These shocking pictures, taken just before dawn, show large brown rats scurrying between piles of bin-bags, discarded cardboard boxes and restaurant litter.
Pest controllers have seen a 100 per cent increase in call-outs for rat infestations in Manchester city centre in recent years, but council officers say Chinatown has the biggest problem.
Posted by lvmreader @ 03:44 PM (779 views) Add Comment
13 Comments
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1. theboltonfury said...
are we sure those rats weren't actually some of the inhabitants of salford?
2. theboltonfury said...
are we sure those rats weren't actually some of the inhabitants of salford?
3. theboltonfury said...
are we sure those rats weren't actually some of the inhabitants of salford?
4. Theboltonfury said...
sorry - bloody computer
5. Allthedaylong said...
Have you seen the video? They're the size of Cats!
6. lvmreader said...
;)
7. drewster said...
Again, lacking any relevance to HPC......
8. dohousescrashinthewoods said...
Ha ha! Rats in Chinatown? Must be boom time. Usually they'd be int' stew ;)
9. This comment has been removed as it was found to be in breach of our Blog Policies.
10. lvmreader said...
@Drewster,
The marketability of property in an area affected by Rats plagues isn't optimal. And then couple with this the risk of bubonic plague and you have the makings for a serious correction downwards in prices in such areas. Surely you can see how one consequence leads to another? Perception drives prices, not fundamentals.
Do you really need every news item to spell it out for you it's relevance? You must be blindsided a lot by events?
I guess you would say "A war in the Middle East? What's that got to do with the price of oil?"
11. drewster said...
@lvmreader:
If there was a serious rat problem in Chinatown then local property values should fall. However it's like standing on a waterbed - step on one part and the rest just rises to compensate. If Chinatown becomes less desirable then the rest of the city becomes more desirable. The average price stays the same.
Looking at the rat/plague connection:
Yes, rats did spread bubonic plague across Europe in 1347-50, killing up to 50% of the population. That must have knocked house prices for six, although personally I'd be too distraught mourning over my lost family and friends, the thought of buying a house would be cold comfort.
The chances of bubonic plague wreaking havoc in Britain again are slim-to-none. Bubonic plague is treatable with antibiotics - obviously that's a problem for poor people in Africa or America, but in the UK even the poor and homeless can be treated on the NHS. In 1348 every town had open sewers in the streets, a terrible source of disease. Today we have underground sewers which keep diseases away from humans. Furthermore we have international networks of epidemic control centres who monitor contagious diseases such as SARS, Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, and Tuberculosis. None of those has caused an epidemic in the UK in recent times. If rats were spreading the plague around, we'd just lay down more rat poison and we'd put food waste into solid wheelie-bins or dumpsters instead of thin plastic bags.
The bottom line is: contagious diseases don't pose a threat to the UK at the present time.
"A war in the Middle East - what's that got to do with oil?"
I wouldn't say that, no. Although..... I hate when people blame the high oil price on "instability" in the middle-east. That region of the world hasn't been stable for decades; the oil price seems to move independently of political events there.
12. Stevie Dee said...
Guys, this year (2008), will be the year of the RAT, so it's quite topical. People born in the year of the RAT are supposed to be survivors, so the guy said, who delivered me my last Chinese Take-Away. So if you a BTLer born in the year of the RAT, have no fear, as you are "A Survivor". But you may not be able to afford some chinese take-out for a while, but hey, there is always instant noodles.
13. lvmreader said...
@Drewster
I thought you were a bit more on the ball. All markets are interrelated and some more than "Joe Average" realises. I remember this blog back in 2005/2006. It didn't cover the money market problems.
If we were discussing Tsunamis and I brought up Cumbra Vieja in the Canaries, I guess you'd say "What has that got to do with Tsunamis" and you would reveal your ignorance and unwillingness to learn.
Just don't read my posts. I will post whatever I feel is relevant. If you don't like it, well I don't care.