PETA Director Seeks NYC’s Inaugural ‘Rat Ambassador’ Job

For Immediate Release:
November 21, 2025

Contact:
Hannah Nelson 202-483-7382

With Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani facing pressure from a group of rattled Brooklynites to appoint a new “rat czar,” NYC-based PETA Director Ashley Byrne is throwing her hat into the ring for the rodent-focused role—but with the intention of serving all New Yorkers as the city’s first-ever “Rat Ambassador.” Says Ms. Byrne, “Poisoning, gassing, and other cruel deeds all failed, whereas co-existence with urban wildlife requires kindness, common sense, and altering human behavior that attracts rats in the first place.”

After PETA pushed the city and its previous “rat czar” to prioritize effective control methods like trash mitigation over cruel, lethal methods such as glue traps, poisons, and dog patrols, commonsense solutions like residential containerization requirements were put into place—and have led to a significant decrease in rat sightings. With the unsuccessful “War on Rats” being phased out and replaced with a “War on Trash,” New York is now entering a new era of diplomacy with its most misunderstood residents—and Byrne would keep the momentum going.

“Rats are affectionate, complex individuals, and it’s not their fault they’ve gotten used to the free buffet of trash left out in the streets by human slobs,” says PETA Director Ashley Byrne. “As Rat Ambassador, I’d work to promote empathy for these resilient urban dwellers and help build a city that’s cleaner, safer, and kinder to all.”

PETA notes that rats form close bonds with their families and friends, enjoy playing and wrestling, and even giggle when tickled. New Yorkers who truly want rats to move out of town can do their part by not leaving out food, keeping trash in chew-proof containers, and never buying or using cruel and ineffective wildlife-control products. Killing methods such as glue traps, poisons, or drowning are not only cruel to rats but also worthless, as the decreased competition for available food sources leads to accelerated breeding among survivors—and a spike in populations.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.