For the last couple of centuries, New York City has been at war with rats. After numerous attempts to eradicate the vermin, New York City’s newest battle plan includes hiring its first “Rat Czar.”
As part of his Rat Action Plan, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is creating a position within city government officially titled the Director of Rodent Mitigation. The job pays between $120k-$170k a year. That’s more than what the average lawyer in New York makes.
To get the job, according to the official posting, the applicant will need to be an NYC resident, have a bachelor’s degree, five years of relevant experience, a “swashbuckling attitude” and a “general aura of badassery.”
Reactions to the announcement of a “Rat Czar” in New York City ranged from comical to critical on social media. Plenty of folks even offered evidence of their own qualifications to hold the job.
New York’s history with rats, specifically the Norway rat, dates back to 1776 when German ships arrived to help the British war effort against the American colonies. Norway rats are an invasive species and can carry disease.
To kill them, New York has tried putting dry ice in rat nests to suffocate them and sterilizing rats by feeding them chemically laced food. There’s even a group of New York residents that has been holding terrier hunts for years.
There are an estimated 2 million rats in New York City, but the latest data shows that number is likely on the rise after the COVID-19 pandemic.