Giant brown rats overtake Sydney’s inner city and suburbs to feast on gourmet leftovers

Footage has emerged of a giant rat crawling over chairs in a south west Sydney restaurant and now The Daily Telegraph can reveal every restaurant in the state which has been fined for pest-related offences. SEE THE FULL LIST

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Footage of a large rat crawling over chairs at a restaurant in Sydney’s southwest has emerged after a passer-by filmed the surprise find.

The rodent was captured on top of a chair before it ran under the table and further inside the store.

While there were no customers inside the restaurant at the time, the video posted to Instagram just a day ago has already been viewed more than 3000 times.

It comes as more than 120 businesses have been named and shamed in the NSW Food Authority’s latest list for pest breaches over the past year.

SEE THE FULL LIST BELOW

The huge rat was perched on a chair inside the restaurant. Picture: Auburn_2144

Rats! Vermin feast at the back of the Metro Theatre on George St. Picture: Toby Zerna

A whopping 15 northern beaches eateries were fined more than $16,000 combined for failing to eradicate and prevent the harbourage of pests and ordered to clean up their act.

The NSW Food Authority have penalised 45 restaurants this year alone for failing to comply with the food standards.

Restaurants slapped with pest related fines include: Tandouri Taj in Potts Point, Bronte Fish & Chips & Burgers which was penalised twice, and Berri Patch Bondi.

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The Daily Telegraph revealed yesterday swarms of giant brown rats have taken over Sydney’s CBD to feast on gourmet food dumped in city alleys, spreading diseases including leptospirosis, salmonella and E. coli.

Experts say the massive 40cm brown rats have won a turf war against Sydney’s smaller black rats which have traditionally dominated the inner city, as the pictures show.

A passer-by filmed the rat from outside the restaurant. Picture: Auburn_2144

Feasting on ‘gourmet’ scraps thrown in the city’s streets, alleys and dumpsters. Picture: Bill Hearne

University of Sydney behavioural ecology expert Professor Peter Banks said the rat rivals have been competing for dominance in areas rich in food scraps.

“The bigger brown rats aggressively chase them away and fight them,” he said.

Another factor behind the rise of the rodents is Sydney’s construction boom which has disrupted habitats and forced thousands more onto the streets.

A City of Sydney spokeswoman said the number of complaints about rats has been rising over the past four years. In the last year there were 334 complaints.

Data from issues management app Snap, Send Solve found the city is the worst area for infestation, followed by Petersham and Bankstown.

How Sydney's rats stack up.

Rats can be responsible for spreading 35 different diseases including rat-bite fever, which can be fatal in 20 per cent of cases if left untreated.

So far eight dogs have died this year after contracting leptospirosis, a disease spread by rat urine.

Dumpsters in the city’s back alleys are a favourite rendezvous. Picture: Toby Zerna

Anything goes really … this rat is sporting some war wounds. Picture: Toby Zerna

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In the early 1900s, rats were blamed for bringing bubonic plague to Sydney.

A public panic ensued and 3000 rat catchers were employed to rid the city of the pests.

They killed more than 100,000. Modern day rat hunters are almost as busy.

Large brown rats come out at night in Sydney’s inner city and suburbs. Picture: Bill Hearne

A large dead rat in Belmore Park near Central Station and Hay Street in the city.

Robert Andrew of Masters Pest Control Sydney said: “In winter we don’t get cockroaches or spiders, we just get calls for rats on a daily basis.”

“More than 110 of those workers are based in public areas, removing food waste, identifying and backfilling rat holes and reporting rats for targeted baiting,” a City spokeswoman said.

But Gerard Dallow from Micropest Pest Control Sydney said the council could do more to reduce rat numbers.