New York City could drug rats with birth control in an attempt to cut down on the rodent infestation.
City Democratic Council Member Shaun Abreu introduced a bill on Thursday that would use contraception to sterilize rats, which can produce 15,000 descendants per couple year.
If passed, the city will distribute salty pellets infused with birth control in rat mitigation zones that extend across 10 city blocks in two neighborhoods.
It’s unclear how the contraceptive pellets will be distributed, but previous strategies have included dipping grains and meat into oil containing the birth control and strategically placing them around the city.
Lawmakers are considering a bill to use birth control instead of rat poison to eliminate rats from New York City
Rats flock to garbage, but the new salty pellets that are laced with birth control with reportedly be ‘better than pizza’ for the rodents
The infestation has long been fought with poison, but officials put an end to the method following the death Flaco, the beloved Eurasian eagle-owl – the animal died from consuming rat poisoning.
Lawmakers have previously attempted to deploy contraceptives last year as a solution to the growing rat problem, but Abreu said he hopes this time will be different.
‘We believe that we need to take a shock-and-awe approach to the rat problem by throwing everything we have at it,’ he said at a council meeting, the New York Post reported.
Ken Siegel, the CEO of SenesTech, a company that produces rat contraceptives called ContraPest, told Fox5 that the pellets are like ‘a milk shake’ for rats.
‘It is a liquid formulation that is high in fat, sweet tasting and very attractive to rats, which need to consume approximately 10 percent of their body weight in water each day,’ he said.
Loretta Mayer, a scientist involved in making ContraPest, said the salty pellets will be more mouth-watering for the rats than the garbage to which they’ve become accustomed, telling The New York Times: ‘It’s better than pizza.’
If the legislation is passed, the contraceptives will be distributed in the East Village of Manhattan, Harlem, the Bronx and Bed Stuy and Bushwick in Brooklyn
The city has previously attempted to implement birth control measures, including the MTA, which unsuccessfully proposed spreading it throughout subway systems about a decade ago
If the legislation is passed, the contraceptives will be distributed in the East Village of Manhattan, Harlem, the Bronx and Bed Stuy and Bushwick in Brooklyn.
Mayor Eric Adams has ‘taken a whole-of-government approach’ in the war on rats, spokesperson Liz Garcia told The Times, adding that his office will review the legislation.
‘We will continue to work with all of our partners in government on rat-reduction strategies,’ Garcia continued.
Figuring out how to widely distribute rat birth control will pose the greatest challenge because the city will need to produce enough pellets to sterilize the millions of rats.
However, the cost to produce the pellets is relatively low, according to Mayer, who said it will amount to about $5 per pound.
This is not the first time the city has pushed to use birth control to eradicate the pest problem, with lawmakers attempting to introduce contraceptives as early as 1967.
At the time, Governor Nelson Rockefeller proposed using small doses of oral contraceptives by bating the rats with doctored food containing one-millionth of a gram of birth control.
Flaco, the owl who escaped the Central Park Zoo, (pictured) died in February after flying into the side of a building. A toxicology report revealed that the owl had high levels of rat poison and a pigeon virus, prompting a renewed push to eradicate rats using contraceptives
Rockefeller said the plan was to dissolve the birth control in vegetable oil, coat grains and meat in the oil and place it strategically throughout the city.
According to a 1967 New York Times article, the rat population was estimated to be between eight and 10 million.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) once again attempted to eradicate the rat population a decade ago by spreading rat contraceptives throughout the subway and last year, Bryant Park attempted to implement similar measures.
The renewed push for an alternative to rat poison stemmed from Flaco the owl’s tragic death earlier this year, a year after he escaped from the Central Park Zoo.
Flaco died when he flew into the side of a building and a subsequent toxicology report found the bird had high levels of rat poison and a pigeon virus in his system.
‘As captivated as our city was during Flaco’s year of freedom, we all collectively held our breath for the many risks that our city poses to wildlife and birds of prey,’ Abreu told the New York Post.
‘Flaco’s autopsy confirmed our worst fears: he ingested a fatal dose of rat poison. Rodenticides are not only toxic for the animals we love, they are increasingly ineffective at reducing rat infestations,’ he continued.
‘That’s why we are introducing Flaco’s Law — to build a better, safer, more eco-friendly city.’
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
