(29 Sep 2023)
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4455829
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brussels, Belgium - 26 September 2023
1. Close of a rat under a park bench at Place Eugene Verboekhoven
HEADLINE: Rat Reputation Rehabilitation
2. Mid view of a rat eating under a park bench
ANNOTATION: Filth and disease immediately pop into mind when seeing a rat.
ANNOTATION: Rats are so numerous in Brussels, it is possible that they outnumber people.
3. View of a ran running through the grass
4. Wide view of men sitting on a park bench where rats are underneath
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brussels, Belgium - 28 September 2023
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Martine Baeyens, Brussels Tourist
"They eat a lot of dirt and garbage, but if they are a bit too many, then you have a big problem."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brussels, Belgium - 26 September 2023
6. Wide exterior view of the Brussels Sewer Museum
7. Underground view looking up at manhole cover
8. View of Aude Hendrick, Sewer Museum Curator, walking inside the sewer
ANNOTATION: The Brussels Sewer Museum takes visitors to where the rats call home.
ANNOTATION: Curators are adding a bit of positive light to the dark life of a rat.
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Aude Hendrick/Brussels Sewer Museum Curator
“We thought we'd choose an animal that is not really liked, take an interest in it and make all its different aspects better known.”
10. SOUNDBITE (French) Sophie Vanderschueren/Brussels Sewer Museum Scientist
“it's true that some garbage collectors, sewage workers and other people who work along rats on a daily basis find them useful because they eat our rubbish and the food left over in our streets. So, at that level, they can be considered useful".
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brussels, Belgium - 28 September 2023
29. Wide view of a dead rat in downtown Brussels
30. Close view of a dead rat
ANNOTATION: The city of Brussels has a rat extermination action.
ANNOTATION: However, people and rats depend on each other.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brussels, Belgium - 26 September 2023
31. View of an artistic display of a stuffed rat eating a french fry
32. Close view of the artistic display of a stuffed rat eating a french fry
ANNOTATION: Humans make waste and rats eat it.
STORYLINE:
When one goes down the stairs of the Brussels Sewer Museum, all the elements are there: the smell, the humidity, the narrowness. All elements but one: rats.
They are living there but are hard to spot. They fear humans and run away from them in places where they don't belong.
This rodent has made its home in the sewer system where it can thrive enjoying the heat and humidity, as well as food from scraps ending up in waste waters.
But the odds are better on seeing rats on the surface, in parks or among pedestrian areas where they have become acquainted with human presence.
Rats can incite fear, fascination, curiosity or even disgust but we actually know very little about this little rodent.
Aware of its reputation, the Brussels Sewer Museum decided to open a new exhibition to present this creature in an open and unbiased way, and explain how it has adapted to our environment and our consumption patterns.
"We thought we'd choose an animal that is not really liked, take an interest in it and make all its different aspects better known,” said museum curator Aude Hendrick.
The sewer rat can measure between 20-28cm and weigh up to half a kilo. They live in colonies of around 20 to a hundred individuals with a hierarchy, and do not evolve far from their nests (between 10 to 100 metres maximum).
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