A Canadian Convenience Store Closed After This Video Showed Rats Crawling Everywhere
Yikes! 🐀⚠️
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If the movie Ratatouille was set in a store, it might look a little like this! A Quebec Couche-Tard convenience store has been forced to close after a video of rats taking over a candy display was posted online.
On February 22, Montrealer Jesse Walker posted a video on social media that appears to show a number of rats running across the floor and among food displays in a Montreal Couche-Tard.
Walker told Narcity Quebec the clip was filmed in front of the convenience store, which is located at the intersection of Avenue du Parc and Rue Villeneuve in Montreal.
At least four critters can be seen through the door window, running around and climbing the racks displaying candy and other food products.
"Come on @couchetardqc and #ultramar we can do better than this... rats in the candy... this is the dep on Parc and Villeneuve…," wrote Walker, sharing the video via Instagram.
Walker says he contacted the City about the rat infestation but was told it was not the City's issue.
Narcity Québec reports that the director of operations at Couche-Tard, Luc Jubinville, contacted Walker about the video.
"These are indeed shocking images that do not reflect at all the experience we want to offer in our stores. The site has now been closed while we assess the situation to remedy it," he said.
The company has since confirmed that the store will remain closed until an investigation into what happened has been completed.
"We also contacted an extermination company quickly to support us and allow us to reopen as quickly as possible, while ensuring that we met the highest standards of health and safety," Jennifer Vincent, Communications Manager at Alimentations Couche-Tard Inc., told Narcity.
Despite the recent rat clip, the store in question has not been fined for unsanitary conditions in the last 24 months, per the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.