It’s official: rat birth control, NYC’s attempt to combat its ever-growing rodent population, has been given the green light. As of Thursday, October 3rd, the City Council decided to move forward with the plan in 2025.
ContraPest pellets will be distributed in rat mitigation zones to hit the rats where they are most densely populated. In other cities, including Boston, this method helped the number of rodents by one third in three months, per Newsweek. Perhaps considering NYC is estimated to have about three million rats — and the fact that a male and female can reproduce 15,000 pets annually — this is going to be quite the effort. (You’ve seen that map that indicates where rats congregate in the city, haven’t you?)
The active ingredient “triptolide” in the rat contraceptive would work on both male and female rats to sterilize their reproductive systems. More specifically, female rats’ ovarian functions would be affected and sperm cell production would be altered in male rats.
The bill is named Flaco’s Law, after the beloved Central Park owl who was found dead with rat poisoning in his system. The birth control method is considered a more humane approach to fixing the problem, and has even received the seal of approval from PETA.
“We’ve urged New York City to use nonlethal methods to control its rat population for years, and we’re delighted that it’s chosen rodent birth control,” a PETA spokesperson revealed in a statement.
Wildly enough, this is not the first time brith control has been a proposed tactic to mitigate NYC’s rat population (we’re one of the rattiest cities in the U.S., after all). Governor Nelson Rockefeller had declared a contraceptive plan for rats back in 1967. Even Bryant Park and the MTA both tried separate methods not too many years ago. However, the rats have overcome each attempt.
Councilman Shaun Abreu, a proponent of this effort, believes this go around will be more successful. He claims that the contraceptives compounded with additional efforts the city has put forth to mitigate the problem could be key.
“We believe that we need to take a shock-and-awe approach to the rat problem by throwing everything we have at it,” said Abreu. Moreover, he is working closely with scientist and the creator of ContraPest Loretta Mayer, who explained that these pellets contain such a high salt and fat content that rats will opt for them instead of digging through trash, even claiming “its better than pizza.”
We’ll keep you posted as the plans are brought to action next year.
With contributions from Danielle Valente