Ratical! D.C. Mayor Receives PETA Award for Kindness to Rats

For Immediate Release:
April 20, 2026

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-2483-7382

A Humane Rodent Reduction Award is on its way from PETA to Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser following the city’s decision to deploy edible rat birth control bait as part of its efforts to curb rat populations. In an accompanying letter sent today to Mayor Bowser, PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk—who served as Chief of Zoonotic Disease Control for the D.C. Department of Human Services during a time when the city relied exclusively on cruel, lethal poisons—praises city leadership for embracing a compassionate and more effective approach, and for addressing the root of the problem by reminding residents to mind their trash, often the rats’ only reason for being in the neighborhood.

PETA is sending Mayor Bowser a framed certificate, one of PETA’s wildly popular Rats Have Rights mugs, and delicious mouse-shaped vegan chocolates from Divine Treasures.

“Rats are complex individuals who are simply trying to survive, and it’s not their fault they’ve been lured into our neighborhoods with free all-you-can-eat buffets of trash that humans leave out,” says Newkirk. “PETA tips its hat to the city for including a solution rooted in respect, common sense, and compassion, and urges cities everywhere to follow D.C.’s lead.”

PETA points out that rats are empathetic, family-oriented individuals who will put themselves in harm’s way to save someone else. Residents who still 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. Killing methods such as glue traps, poisons, or drowning are not only immensely cruel to rats but also highly ineffective, 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 when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, 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 Mayor Bowser follows.

April 20, 2026

The Honorable Muriel Bowser

Mayor of the District of Columbia

Dear Mayor Bowser:

I hope you are well. 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 many in Washington, D.C., where we have an office near the White House—in response to reports that city officials will employ edible rat birth control liquid and remind residents about the importance of trash mitigation to control rat population growth. When I was Chief of Zoonotic Disease Control for the D.C. DHS, the city used devastating, painful poisons like red squill and made no attempts to educate the public at all. We are therefore delighted to inform you that we are presenting you with a Humane Rodent Reduction Award to honor these measures.

PETA has long championed fertility control bait designed for large-scale use (e.g., in neighborhoods) that works by drastically reducing rodent reproduction. That is the way to go, and sanitation measures are vital, too. Rats are only here because of human behavior that lures them into coming out to look through our trash and belongings for something to eat. Killing them doesn’t solve the problem, as it will only cause other rats to move into the newly available spaces.

We hope D.C.’s shift in focus will inspire other locations to use rat birth control in their efforts, too, as Baltimore has already done. In recognition of this decision, we’ll be sending you a framed certificate, a “Rats Have Rights” mug, and some delicious milk-free mouse-shaped chocolates. Thank you again.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid Newkirk

Founder