New York plans to put rats on birth control

The use of contraceptives instead of poison could save other animals from being harmed, backers of the initiative hope

New York has approved a trial program to reduce the city’s rat population without using poison. Starting next year, contraceptive pellets will be placed in special rat-accessible containers in different neighborhoods of the city.

Proponents of this approach argue that it will humanely reduce the numbers of rats without endangering other animals, or the environment. If all goes to plan, rats will ingest the contraceptive, become sterilized and in this way are prevented from reproducing.

The initiative has been dubbed ‘Flaco’s Law’ after the owl by the same name that escaped from a city zoo last year and which was later found dead, with rat poison in its system, according to local media.

“We can’t poison our way out of this, we cannot kill our way out of this,” City Council member Shaun Abreu said in April when first introducing the bill.

During a 12-month pilot program, inspectors will make monthly checks to see how many pellets have been consumed across different neighborhoods.

“During such monthly inspections of the pilot-program areas, the department shall track the amount of rat contraceptive in each rat contraceptive dispenser,” the provisions of the bill read.

A rat on a subway platform in New York City. / Gary Hershorn © Getty Images

Senestech, the company that makes the plant-based product called Contrapest, claims each dose prevents rats from reproducing for 45 days, reducing populations humanely without endangering other animals or the environment.

New York has long been famous for its rat problem. An estimated three million of the rodents live in the Big Apple, according to pest-control firm MMPC, which based the figure on a 2014 study by Jonathan Auerbach.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has welcomed what it called an “innovative approach” to the problem, praising the city for selecting “birth control over cruel, lethal methods such as poison and suffocation.”