The Rats of Iran

(Tehran, Iran) A new campaign has been launched to stem the rising population of huge rats in the capital city. Some reportedly are "as big as cats."

“It has been decided to bring Tehran’s rat population under control by the end of the next Iranian year (March 2012),” the newspaper quoted Hossein Kalkhorani, deputy head of the municipality, as saying.

The report said the authorities in Iran’s capital kill nearly one million rats each year, but despite that the number of the rodents roaming the city has been increasing.

It said in some areas like Tehran’s impoverished south, the rat population was thought to be six times higher than the number of people living there, while the annual campaign against the pests costs more than $10 million.

Reportedly, Iran has some of the world's largest rats, 25 percent "bigger than their global counterparts."