New York City, which is suffering from a rat infestation, is considering using contraception to curb the scourge, the New York Times reported.
City Councilman Sean Abreu introduced a bill this week proposing to sterilize rats using pellets that are particularly palatable to rodents.
“We believe it will take a shock wave to eliminate the rat problem, and we must try everything,” the elected official announced during the city council meeting.
A pair of mice can produce up to 15,000 offspring per year. However, if the bill is adopted, small saline birth control pills would be distributed in about ten blocks located in two neighborhoods of the US capital.
The tablets in question, called ContraPest, are produced by SenesTech. The company's CEO said ContraPest is like “milk” for mice.
“It's a liquid formula that's high in fat, tastes sweet and is very attractive to mice,” he said in an interview with Fox5.
“ContraPest will be more attractive to mice than the litter they are accustomed to,” says Loretta Mayer, one of the scientists behind the pellets. It's better than pizza!”
