Photo Credit: WE Love Barn Owls FB
KEPALA BATAS, Dec 7: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and the Barn Owl and Rodent Research Group (BORG) have successfully used barn owls to control pests like rats, with the birds consuming more than 11,000 rats in the Bertam area since 2023.
Project coordinator, Associate Prof Dr Hasber Salim of USM’s School of Biological Sciences (PPSB), said the initiative began with the installation of five barn owl nest boxes around Bertam.
Nest boxes placed at the Advanced Medical and Dental Institute (IPPT) of USM have produced 30 adult barn owls and hundreds of chicks through six breeding cycles.
Dr Hasber by analysing the owl pellets, the research team confirmed that the birds consumed over 11,000 rats in the area before expelling the bones, allowing the team to estimate rat mortality.
“Our findings show barn owls are highly effective for controlling rats in agricultural and suburban areas,” he told a media conference for the Young Scientist Programme-Barn Owl Nest Box initiative at IPPT USM Bertam here on Saturday.
Hasber said the team’s ecological method reduced the need for toxic rat poison, which can harm people, wildlife and the environment.
“A single barn owl can eat up to 3,000 rats a year, mostly black (house) rats and field rats commonly found at the ground level and near oil palm estates.
“USM and BORG are now collaborating with several companies and planning to expand the project due to its strong results,” he said.
Also present were USAINS Holding Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Dr Hafsah Hashim, PPSB dean Associate Prof Dr Amir Hamzah Ahmad Ghazali and State Education Director Mohamad Dziauddin Mat Saad.
Hafsah said 16 students from 14 Penang secondary schools will represent Malaysia at Science Castle World in Tokyo from December 11 to 14 to present their barn owl nest box innovation.
These students, guided for nine months under the Young Scientist Programme, are using IPPT USM as their research site to study sustainable pest control, AI-based monitoring tools and habitat design while testing specially designed nest boxes equipped with IoT features to attract barn owls.
— BERNAMA