Trash the Traps: PETA Pitches Prevention to Solve Boston’s Rodent Woes

For Immediate Release:
August 6, 2026

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

Ahead of September’s National Rat Summit, PETA today sent a letter to Mayor Michelle Wu with a ratical but proven proposal: Ditch the cruel killing methods and double down on deterrence and prevention techniques such as improved trash removal (“get rid of the rubbish, and the rats will follow”) and chemical rodent birth control. PETA notes that poison and traps inflict gut-wrenchingly painful deaths on the little mammals and don’t offer a long-term fix because as long as food is available, rats will continue to be attracted to it; they’ll breed, and an endless killing cycle is all the city will achieve. Removing the source of the problem—trash and food waste left on the streets or sloppily tossed into unsecured garbage cans—and implementing humane solutions such as rat contraception are the only effective ways to reduce rodent reproduction over time. PETA is also sending the mayor one of its wildly popular “Rats Have Rights” mugs.

“People can’t blame rats for taking advantage of the endless trash buffets that make our cities so attractive to them,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges Mayor Wu to prioritize better sanitation and food storage to fix this human-created problem and reminds everyone that rats have a right to exist without cruelty.”

PETA points out that rats are empathetic, family-oriented individuals who will put themselves in harm’s way to save someone else. Residents who find themselves rattled by rodents can help do their part to keep populations under control by never leaving out food and keeping trash in covered, chew-proof containers.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and fear, a rat is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Wu follows.

August 6, 2026

The Honorable Michelle Wu

Mayor of Boston

Dear Mayor Wu:

Greetings! I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 10.4 million members and supporters globally, including over 136,000 in Massachusetts, ahead of the National Urban Rat Summit next month and in response to your statement that the city is “home for everyone—except rats.” Even though rats may be the city’s least popular residents, they deserve humane treatment. They are only in urban areas because humans have created environments that attract them and allow their populations to grow. We urge you to move away from ineffective and cruel killing methods to control rodent populations, focus on robust deterrence measures, and revisit the use of rat contraception programs, which are more humane, effective long-term solutions.

Blaming rats for a problem created by unsanitary human behavior helps no one: Rats depend on available food sources, so as long as trash bags, food scraps, and other waste are left out on city streets and in alleyways, rat populations will continue to flourish. Lethal traps, which kill indiscriminately and create a temporary vacuum that nearby rats will quickly fill, fail to address the root of the problem and lead to an endless cycle of trapping and killing. The only effective, long-term method of controlling rodent populations is to focus on cleaning and containing trash rather than killing animals. In New York City, where decades of cruel killing methods have failed to reduce the city’s rat populations, the rollout of a new trash containerization initiative, still in its early stages, has already led to a 23% decline in rat sightings.

When paired with commonsense deterrence and prevention methods like improved sanitation and infrastructure as well as secure food and waste storage, rodent contraception can help control rat populations without causing suffering or putting companion animals and other wildlife at risk.

Rats are clever and empathetic. They have friends, comfort distressed companions, and laugh when tickled. A proactive, compassionate campaign would help all Boston residents live in peace without harming anyone in the process. To celebrate these remarkable rodents, we’ll be sending you our “Rats Have Rights” mug. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman

President