PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia has appointed its first rat abatement manager in response to a City Council resolution calling for a coordinated effort to fight an infestation in the Lower Northeast.
A news release from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health on Wednesday announced long-time employee Adrian Jordan “will lead a comprehensive response to manage interconnected issues” creating the rat problem.
That includes door-to-door surveys in neighborhoods — like Oxford Circle and Castor Gardens — so Jordan’s team can identify and respond to rat problems even before a complaint is filed.
The animal rights group PETA has asked that the response not include poison. Strategic initiatives manager Jakob Shaw said it’s ineffective, as new rats move in when existing ones die.
“All animals deserve to be treated with kindness,” he said.
Instead, PETA is urging the use of rat birth control — but that’s a non-starter for the health department and the district’s City Council member, Anthony Phillips.
“If you are living with a rat in your backyard or your house or your front porch or anywhere, there’s rats everywhere. You are not thinking about just throwing out a contraceptive to stop them from literally attacking you or being in your home,” he said.
“If you had a rat in your home, you wouldn’t be talking about a contraceptive. You’d be talking about, ‘I need to get rid of it.’”
While the health department agrees that contraceptives are “unproven,” it also agrees with PETA that there are non-lethal tools that everyone should be following, including securing trash, eliminating nesting places like old cars and appliances, and sealing up cracks where they can enter a house.
PETA requests non-lethal solution, but city leaders say that’s a non-starter
PETA requests non-lethal solution, but city leaders say that’s a non-starter
