Rat catchers

An Irula tribesman and his wife near Madras, South India, bagging his day’s catch of rats. Under a scheme initially funded by Oxfam and then by the Indian Department of Science and technology, the Irula use traditional techniques to catch rats who live under the rice-fields and are responsible for looting an estimated quarter of India's rice crop. The method is cheaper and safer than pesticide extermination. Most of the rats are sold to local snake and crocodile farms as live food, but some are barbecued by the Irula for an after-work supper in the fields.