The rats were bred to create the latest fashion accessory - the rat fur coat. At the time there were grand visions that the fur coats would be exported to the very rich in Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. But the international market wasn’t ready for the rat fur coat. The government has just pulled out of the farming scheme, refusing to pay farmers for their rats. Farmers with tens of thousands of huge, hungry rats on their hands are up in arms. Some desperate farmers are releasing their rats into the wild. The local rat patrol are out trying to catch them. The rats are devastating crops. Other farms are leaving their rats to starve to death. The Thais may have lost all their money but they haven’t lost their sense of ingenuity. Some villagers are catching the rats to eat. Now the rats, literally the size of a cat, are destined for haute cuisine rather than haute couture.

Produced by ABC Australia