[sphinx]

Some years back, the People's Republic of Takoma Park ventured down this path. The city council voted to ban lethal forms of rat control and to shift to humane trapping. This was done in a rather impromptu fashion at a single city council meeting, presumably in response to agitated animal rights activists. No one bothered to ask what Takoma Park would do with the rats once they had been trapped.

Following the vote, that question inevitably surfaced. No one had thought it through, but the off-the-cuff response from the city government spokesperson was that "rats are wildlife and should be released to their natural habitat, so we thought we might take them up to Frederick County and release them in the countryside where they belong."

This met with the predictable response, and Takoma Park reconsidered before the Frederick County Militia could round up enough pickups to transport the strike force down I-270.

I didn't know DC had gone down this route, and I don't know what DC is actually doing for pest control. Perhaps the ban on lethal methods only applies to private contractors. (Wouldn't surprise me; city governments are good at blocking out competition, and a lot of facially stupid things are done with hidden motives.) I'll look into it. Perhaps DC could humanely trap the rats and take them down to the National Zoo to feed the snakes. Now THAT would be a fine suggestion for a city councilman to make the next time the subject arises.

[daniel1212]

I think the ban in DC was only for its own animal control.

And remember when the EPA stopped cities from using dry ice to kill rats in their nests?