A woman has been prosecuted and handed a criminal behaviour order after her persistent bird feeding drew a large number of rats to a village in the Amman Valley.
The case was brought by Neath Port Talbot Council‘s environmental health team, which said the woman had repeatedly failed to stop feeding wildlife despite being warned.
A primary school, an equine business and neighbouring residents in Tairgwaith had all reported numerous rat sightings, the council said.
The problems stemmed from a build-up of bird feed in the woman’s garden, which continued even after she was issued with a legal notice ordering her to stop.
She was also witnessed leaving meat containing bones on public land — something the council warned could have put local dogs and other animals at risk.
The case was heard at Swansea Magistrates’ Court, where the woman was sentenced on Thursday 4 June.
The court was told she had failed to comply with an abatement notice served under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which deals with statutory nuisances.
Magistrates handed her a two-year criminal behaviour order setting out a string of restrictions on how she can feed birds.
She was also ordered to pay a £1,500 fine.
Under the terms of the order, she may use no more than two feeders at a time across her front and rear gardens.
Each feeder may be filled only once a week, and only purpose-built, approved feeders are allowed.
She is also banned from scattering food on the ground, and any food kept outside must be stored in a sealed container.
The council said the restrictions were designed to stop the over-feeding that had drawn the rats in the first place.
Environmental health teams have powers to act on issues such as pest infestations and accumulations that cause a nuisance, and can take cases to court where warnings are ignored.
It is unusual for a bird-feeding case to end in a criminal behaviour order, with such measures more commonly associated with anti-social behaviour or repeat offending.
