PETA Has an Unusual Proposal for Philadelphia’s Rat Problem
It’s no secret that some major cities deal with rat infestations. A lot of larger cities are also older, and the buildings and infrastructure offer plenty of places for rat populations to grow and thrive.
Being in urban centers, they also have access to plenty of food, which makes it easier for them to survive, even when winter weather rears its ugly head. Philadelphia in particular has been struggling to deal with its rat issues for years, with Philadelphia magazine noting that parts of the city have even declared a public health emergency over it.
But People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has offered up an unusual solution for the city, penning an open letter to the city’s mayor as part of a press release shared on its website. In the letter, PETA says that officials should focus on sterilizing the rats instead of exterminating them.
This would be done by offering rats birth control. While the idea may sound unusual at first glance, other cities have tested the method out with varying degrees of success.
PETA Says Rats Deserve ‘Humane Treatment’
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The letter was addressed to the Honorable Cherelle L. Parker, Philadelphia’s mayor. In it, PETA asked the city to move away from “ineffective and cruel killing methods” the city was considering using to curb rat populations, instead asking them to consider creating barriers for the rats (like keeping trash and food waste covered) and birth control instead.
“Poisoning and trapping rats is a cruel and ineffective approach that inflicts painful deaths on animals who are just trying to eke out an existence, yet fails to address what’s attracting them in the first place,” PETA President Tracy Reiman wrote in the press release. “PETA is calling on Mayor Parker to focus on a long-term and humane solution via prevention and rat contraception.”
PETA called the city’s rats “empathetic” and “family-oriented” in the release, saying that they deserve to be treated just as humanely as Philadelphia’s other residents.
Some Cities Have Tried Birth Control Already
Putting rats on birth control to control the population isn’t a novel idea. In 2025, NPR reported on Somerville, Massachusetts attempts, saying that officials used an anti-fertility chemical that targeted the mature eggs inside of fertile females, stopping pregnancy before it can even begin.
The effect wasn’t permanent, and it required rats to keep consuming bait containing the chemical, noting that the plan wasn’t to completely eradicate rats from the area, but instead stall populations so they stop being a public nuisance.
CBS News says parts of Baltimore, Maryland did something similar. The city’s trial was so successful that they expanded the process in February 2026, rolling it out to the entire city.
While it’s unclear whether Philadelphia will follow suit and adopt the more humane process PETA is pitching, it does seem like the method has had enough success that it might not hurt to give it a try.
