NYC Introduces Birth Control for Rats to Combat Overpopulation

The city council has approved a pilot program to distribute contraceptive pellets in hopes of reducing the rodent population humanely.

New York City will pilot a program using contraceptive pellets called ContraPest to curb its estimated 3 million rat population.
The initiative aims to provide a more humane alternative to traditional methods like traps and poison, which have had limited success.
The program follows the death of Flaco, a famous escaped owl, due to rat poison, leading to the naming of the bill as 'Flaco's Law'.
The contraceptive pellets target both male and female rats, preventing them from reproducing for 45 days after consumption.
The decision has sparked online debate, with many noting that rats in NYC now have better access to birth control than some women in the U.S.