New York City has been trying to control rat population for nearly 60 years. A new city council bill would use contraceptives in hopes of reducing the rat population.
A single pair has the capacity to produce 15,000 offspring per year. Contraceptives are unlikely to affect wildlife as they did in the case of Flaco, the beloved Eurasian eagle owl whose death was blamed, in part, on rat poison. The bill would require the city's health department to distribute salty pellets that sterilize both male and female rats in two neighborhoods as part of a pilot program, says the sponsor of the bill. The sponsor of that bill, Shaun Abreu, predicts that this attempt would be more effective than previous ones, especially if combined with the broader effort to combat rats, which includes put garbage in containers and expand composting. The mayor's office would review the legislation, says Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in a statement that the government has “taken a whole-of- approach”