I have always been curious to know how widespread this problem is: Rats damage Inverness' CCTV fiber optic cables.
The estimate damages are £4,800 (about $8000 USD), so it seems to me they opted to replace an entire segment not just resplice the damages.
Rats often chew cables and even conduit to keep their teeth length manageable, a point we address in our Rodent Proof Cabling note.
Using armored cabling jackets is expensive, but as evidenced by this story repairing is costly as well!
I'm curious - how big is this problem in your experience?