Mice Infest UK Parliament: House Of Lords Considers Cats For Westminster Palace

LONDON — The House of Lords has a momentous decision to make: Should it get cats to chase the mice that have infested one of Britain's most famous buildings?

London's Houses of Parliament, also known as Westminster Palace, has rodents, and the peers aren't exactly sure what to do about it.

Ivan Anthony Moore-Brabazon, the House's administration chief, on Wednesday turned down suggestions to acquire cats. He says the felines could ingest mice poison or wander around the chamber and disrupt business.

He favors the current tactic of using poison and mousetraps.

Parliament staff have reported daily sightings of the rodents in the palace's restaurants and bars.

The performers' union Equity says nearby theaters in London's West End are facing similar problems, with three-quarters of actors and stage managers reporting infestations of mice, rats and fleas, according to The Guardian newspaper.

Comments

[catlover68]

09:24 AM on 03/06/2010

They need to revisit history, cats helped turn the tide during the middle ages when the "black plague" killed off a high % of citizens in Europe. Bring on the cats!

[ArchAngel]

10:53 PM on 03/03/2010

Cats in Parliament?

Cats Rule!

[militantlibrarian]

10:00 PM on 03/03/2010

The Brits are lucky! We would need a saber-toothed tiger to get rid of the rats in our Congress.

[cheeseandsnark]

09:51 PM on 03/03/2010

Poison and mousetraps? No good, I say! Get rid of those and get some brownie points with the rest of the world by adopting some shelter cats. Plus the cats might have something intelligent to contribute to Parliament. ;-)