Late last week, New York City’s City Council passed a measure to implement rat traps with birth control to stop the rodent population from expanding.
According to the New York Post, the bill allows a contraceptive pellet called ContraPest to be put in “special rat-accessible containers” across the city. If a rat ingests the contraceptive, it will become sterilized (via NYP):
The bill was dubbed “Flaco’s Law” after the famed owl of the same name who escaped from the Central Park Zoo in 2023, captured the hearts of New Yorkers — and was then tragically found dead after consuming rat poison.
Flaco’s Law seeks to find a way to mitigate the city’s rate population through means that would prevent other animals from being harmed by accident, backers say.
The bill was first introduced in April.
“We can’t poison our way out of this, we cannot kill our way out of this,” Council member Shaun Abreu said at the time.
The pilot program for rat birth control will last at least 12 months. Inspectors will make monthly checks to see how many of the birth control pellets were consumed.
“During such monthly inspections of the pilot program areas, the department shall track the amount of rat contraceptive in each rat contraceptive dispenser,” the bill said.
The Post added that the rodent problem in the city has increased in recent years. Mayor Eric Adams (D) eventually declared a “war on rats” and appointed a “rat czar” to deal with the problem.
Abreu, who introduced the measure to lace rat traps with birth control, said that he believes this will get the problem under control.
“It’s salty, it’s sweet, and it has fatty materials within it that attract rats. They’ll bring that back to their burrow for other rats to eat,” he said.