Amsterdam’s famous shopping street, Kalverstraat, is no longer just a tourist hotspot. It’s become a paradise for rats and a total nightmare for locals.
As reported by De Telegraaf, the heart of the city crawls with furry freeloaders, and no one seems to be able to stop them.
Shop owners are desperate, residents are horrified, and the rats? They’re living their best lives. 👀
Rats on fries and window seats
They’re not even hiding anymore. Rats are rummaging through French fry containers, lounging by garbage bins, and even sneaking into people’s homes.
One was spotted climbing into a house on Voetboogstraat and casually washing itself in the window, tail swaying outside. No shame whatsoever. 😳
Café owner Willy White has had enough. “I don’t even sell food, but they still come right into my place,” he tells De Telegraaf. “Under the bar, crisscrossing the customers. They’re terrified.”
And it gets worse. The rats chewed through the cords of his beer tap. “I’d really like a cat,” White said, “but according to hospitality rules, that’s not allowed because a cat is unhygienic.” The irony? Chef’s kiss. 😒
Fries, garbage and a perfect rat buffet
The infestation isn’t just bad luck — humans are laying out the welcome mat. Every day, TikTok-snack lovers queue for fries, eat right on the street, and leave behind a salty trail of leftovers. 🍟
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But the fries are just the appetiser. Trash bins are too few and too small, so bags pile up beside them. During the day, “deposit hunters” tear them open for bottles, leaving a mess that rats happily claim.
Restaurant owner David Stapel told De Telegraaf the situation is out of control. Poison is no longer allowed, rats are multiplying, and customers are vanishing.
“In the evening, you literally hear people running out of the alley screaming. This way, not one dares to come and have a drink with me anymore.”
Amsterdam’s plan to stop the squeaking
The city says it’s aware things are getting hairy — or in this case, furry. Instead of launching a full-blown rat offensive, Amsterdam is tiptoeing around the issue with a prevention plan.
A city spokesperson tells De Telegraaf that the plan focuses on reducing food waste, improving waste collection, and educating people on how not to invite rodents into their lives.
@emelie261 Legends say the rat is still running… #tomundjerry #amsterdam #niederlande #netherlands #studylife #run #fyp #foryoupage ♬ Can Can – Rias Orchestra & Helmuth Brandenburg
Big businesses must now use proper containers, and soon, garbage bags will be banned from the streets altogether.
However, the city also expects residents and shop owners to contribute. Because nothing says ”public health crisis” like a shared group project. 🙃
Should Amsterdam be doing more to clean up this furry disaster? Or is it time to arm the locals with cats and steel wool? Tell us what you think — before the rats claim the comments section. 👇
The government has created part of this problem. Putting a return tax on bottles and cans for instance. I have seen more garbage on streets in my town then ever before. I see people going through bins and tossing garbage everywhere and I
leaving all the rest of the garbage behind.
The problem is not so much that they put the recycling money onto the cans and the bottles, the problem is that they didn’t first go and pay a visit to Germany and see how they do it over there because over there thry have different types of garbage bins where you can NOT take anything out And then in Germany they put racks to the side of the garbage bins so to you can put those bottles and cans in there for the homeless.
But I believe the major reason why it is such a problem on this street in particular is because this is where you have the McDonald’s and KFC, etc., and people who go and eat their they have been going there for a while and so it’s not very good for your brain to eat that type of food and they Just throw everything on the street because they don’t have well functioning brains.
For heavens sake, just let them have cats. Cats don’t carry diseases like the Plague and are much cleaner than rats.