302 RURAL DENMARK 



For the collection and destruction of rats killed the 

 Ministry of the Interior issues the following instructions : 



A, The Larger Towns 



Collecting Depots. The local authorities shall provide 

 a sufficient number of places suitable for collecting depots. 

 Such depots must not be within any place where food or 

 clothing is made or offered for sale. Fire-brigade stations 

 are considered most suitable for collecting depots. 



The collecting may suitably be done in the manner 

 that for each depot a number of receptacles are provided, 

 made of galvanised iron and furnished with a tight-fitting 

 lid. Into these receptacles the rats are to be thrown after 

 their tails have been cut off. The tails are to be kept in 

 a separate tin box. All receptacles and boxes are to be 

 collected daily and to be replaced by empty receptacles. 

 The full receptacles are to be taken to the place where 

 the destruction of the rats is effected. 



Further advice on the purchase of such receptacles 

 and the apparatus for cutting off their tails will be given 

 by the Association for the Authorised Extermination of 

 Rats at the request of a local authority. 



The destruction may be effected either by cremating 

 the dead rats for instance at the municipal gasworks 

 or by burying the carcases in the open, at a sufficient 

 distance from the town, unless this course is prohibited 

 by local sanitary considerations. It is recommended that 

 the local authority act in this manner always with the 

 local Health Committee. 



B. The Smaller Towns 



Instead of opening a fixed depot, it would appear 

 more suitable in the smaller towns to provide a collecting 

 cart. Any horse-drawn vehicle would serve the purpose 

 as long as it is furnished with a fixed apparatus for cutting 

 off the tails and a receptacle of galvanised iron for receiv- 



