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Rats lead to public health emergency in Owen Co.

Posted at 3:45 PM, May 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-25 00:19:13-04

OWEN CO., Ind. -- A public health emergency's been declared in Owen County because of a piece of property that's overrun with rats.

The rats were discovered last Friday when the Owen County Humane Society rescued 70 dogs from a house there.

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Exterminators say there were an estimated 100,000 rats on the property.

About 33,000 have been killed and each day more are being exterminated. 

Authorities say the house will have to be razed.

Once the house and the rats are gone, officials say the EPA will get involved due to the amount of poison that's being used to kill the rats and the animal feces.

Sources say it will be decades before anyone is able to safely live on the property again.