United Plantations has also looked at using leopard cats to catch the rats. Research published last year said that rat-eating macaques could also come to the aid of palm oil firms. (File picture shows a barn owel.)
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil companies should try to boost the numbers of barn-owls living in their plantations to tackle a rat problem rather than using snakes or macaques, the Malaysian palm Oil Board said on Wednesday.
Rats thrive in palm plantations and can reduce oil yields by 5% to 10% by feeding on the palm fruit, according to industry estimates, a headache for the world's second biggest producer and exporter of palm oil after Indonesia.
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