New York City finally found its "rat czar" to take on the rodents in the Big Apple, but one critic says the problem likely won’t be fixed until humans change their behavior.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Director of Outreach Ashley Byrne said rats aren’t the problem.
"The disgusting human behavior that is attracting the rats -that's the problem. We are basically inviting them to be here by putting out a daily buffet of garbage around the city," she explained Thursday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
"These intelligent creatures don't deserve to die painful, excruciating deaths because of human irresponsibility."
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Host Tucker Carlson argued humans should do their part in keeping cities and streets clean so rats don’t take over.
"Couldn't we also do our part as people and, like, not leave pizza slices on the sidewalk and pick up the garbage regularly? Why shouldn't we play in a role, too?" he asked.
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Byrne agreed but said until the city cleans up its act and humans change their behavior, nothing will change.
"The city can kill as many rats as it wants to. They're just going to keep coming back. You know, this is nothing more than a quick fix," she said. "If killing rats worked, we wouldn't have a rat problem because people have already been killing rats in the city for decades. But we live under mountains of garbage, so they have not gone away. And they won't."
Carlson jokingly asked if the rats were smarter than New York City's leadership or if the city’s leadership was smarter than the rats.
"Well, I'll say this – rats are actually very clean animals, and they're smart enough not to treat their homes like a garbage dump. So I'll leave it at that," Byrne responded.
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PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement that she contacted New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office, asking that the new rat czar attack the root of the problem by "clearing New York’s dirty streets and parks of food bags and scraps discarded by human slobs—rather than skirting the problem, wasting time and money, and cruelly killing vulnerable animals."
"No matter where you reside, you can learn to live in harmony with rats, mice, and other animals. Not only is humane rodent control possible, it’s ideal for everyone’s health," the statement continued.
