Vientiane: Superstition and folklore may have tainted the owl as a harbinger of death in many South East Asian countries, but in Lao PDR the owl may in fact be the saviour for up to 140,000 Lao forced into severe food insecurity. 

Since April 2008, villages in seven provinces in the northern uplands of Lao PDR experienced the worst rodent outbreaks in over 20 years.  Described as a “sea of rats”, these rodents caused ruthless damage to village crop production (predominantly rice but also some cash crops), destroying everything edible in their path –crops, clothing, even young chicks and ducklings.

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