New York City to put rats on birth control
NEW YORK (Gray News) - The New York City Council passed a bill that will put rats on birth control.
According to the bill, a local rat contraceptive pilot program will begin in a small section of the city using ContraPest, a contraceptive for both male and female rats approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The measure is aimed at helping save wildlife and is inspired by the city’s beloved Flaco the owl, who died earlier this year with rat poison in his system.
Rita McMahon, the director of the Wild Bird Fund, said many birds in New York suffer from rat poisoning.
McMahon told WCBS that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation did necropsies on Red-tailed hawks and other raptors and found that 80% of the birds had died from rat poison.
McMahon said raptors help control the rat population and the rat contraceptive pilot program will help save the birds that eat the rats.
Copyright 2024 Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
