New York's Rat Problem Could Have A Possible Solution In Flaco's Law. Here's What It Is And How It Could Help

New York rat menace: The most populous city in the US is staring at a massive growth in the rat population and is dealing with it through Flaco's Law. Here's what it is.

Rats are seen in a street of New York, United States.

Source : Getty

The United States' most populous city, New York City, is trying out a new method to address its rat problem — birth control. According to The New York Post, the rat birth control programme is jointly run by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Sanitation. Council member Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan), who is in charge of the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, said that “ContraPest pellets” are being put to use to curb the rat menace.

This isn't the first attempt to use birth control on New York City's rats. Governor Nelson Rockefeller had announced a plan in 1967 to use rat contraceptives by dissolving a type of human birth control estrogen in vegetable oil, with which meat and grains would be laced. Similarly, a decade ago the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Bryant Park also tried to use contraceptives for the rodents.

This time, they are using pellets created by Loretta Mayer, founder of pest control tech developer Senestech. She has stated that the fatty and salty pills are proving to be a success. However, the main challenge is to expand distribution, considering each pound costs $5. The pellets contain an active ingredient called “triptolide”, which will sterilise both male and female rats, affecting ovarian function and sperm cell production.

As per the report, Aberu stated that the previous attempts did not succeed because officials lacked persistence, used liquid bait, and did not pair it with trash containerisation.

Last month, a Central Park Zoo owl, Flaco, which had escaped, died after being poisoned. Hence, the pilot programme to curb New York's rat menace is named after him — Flaco’s Law. The results of the autopsy revealed what everyone had been dreading, Flaco died due to ingestion of rat poison.

“Rodenticides are not only toxic for the animals we love, they are increasingly ineffective at reducing rat infestations. That’s why we are introducing Flaco’s Law — to build a better, safer, more eco-friendly city," Abreu said, as per The New York Post.