Chicago’s Rat Ranking Prompts PETA Push to Expand Birth Control

For Immediate Release:
October 14, 2026

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

After Chicago dropped one spot to No. 6 on a new annual ranking of U.S. cities with the most rats, PETA sent a letter today to Mayor Brandon Johnson calling on the city to expand its rat birth control pilot program to more neighborhoods and stop using cruel, ineffective poisons and other lethal methods.

PETA notes that while Chicago has taken preventive steps, including providing residents with garbage carts with tight-fitting lids, a recent Office of Inspector General audit found that the city’s primary rat-control method still relies on poison, which causes rats slow, painful deaths and fails to address the food and shelter that attract rats in the first place. As long as those resources remain available, other rats can move in to replace those who have been killed. PETA is also sending Johnson one of its “Rats Have Rights” mugs.

“Poisoning rats is a cruel revolving door when food and shelter keep drawing them in,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “Chicago has already put rat birth control to the test, and PETA is calling on Mayor Johnson to take this smart solution beyond a handful of neighborhoods and tackle the conditions that attract rats in the first place.”

PETA points out that rats are empathetic, family-oriented individuals who will put themselves in harm’s way to save other rats. Chicagoans who find themselves rattled by rodents can help discourage them 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 Johnson follows.

October 14, 2026

The Honorable Brandon Johnson

Mayor of Chicago

Dear Mayor Johnson:

Greetings! I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA has more than 10.4 million members and supporters globally, including over 220,000 in Illinois—in response to Chicago falling to number six on a list of U.S. cities with the most rats. We respectfully urge you to continue to expand your current pilot study using rodent birth control pellets to more communities, and to move away from any ineffective and cruel killing methods to control rodent populations.

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 appreciate Chicago’s efforts to control the rodent population through sanitation and prevention measures, including providing residents with garbage carts with tight-fitting lids; however, a recent Office of Inspector General audit found that the city’s primary method of rat abatement still relies on rodenticide, which causes a slow, painful death.

Poisons and other lethal methods, like cruel glue traps, 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 killing. When paired with common-sense prevention measures such as improved sanitation, rodent-proofed infrastructure, and secure food and waste storage, rodent contraception can help reduce rat populations without causing rats to suffer or poisoning non-target wildlife or companion animals.

Rats are clever and empathetic. They have friends, comfort distressed companions, and will forgo treats to save another rat from suffering, including strangers. A proactive, compassionate campaign would help all Chicago residents live in peace without harming anyone. 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