The D.C. Wildlife Protection Act does not allow exterminators to kill rats. In fact, they cannot even be caught using glue. Instead, they must be captured and released somewhere else. The law even specifies that they should be captured in families.
There have been increased rats at Occupy D.C. and it is unclear where exterminators are supposed to actually relocate them, though some may be required to go to a "wildlife rehabilitator."
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has now publicly stated he is afraid everyone is just going to dump them in Virginia.
Are you sure about this? This was covered by DCist recently.. http://dcist.com/2012/01/_cuccinelli_well_i_saw.php
ReplyDeleteHere is the distinction, from the Washington Post:
ReplyDeleteThe bill’s proponents claim that the legislation does not cover mice and rats. That is only partially true, however; the bill’s definition of wildlife expressly exempts commensal rodents — the house mouse and Norway and roof rats. The bill covers all other rodents, such as deer mice, field mice and chipmunks, but under the legislation the use of a snap trap by a professional pest management company to control such rodent species is illegal.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-opinions/2010/11/snap-trap_ban_puts_pest_compan.html