SWAMPSCOTT — Resident, Swampscott Conservancy member, and Speak Up For Animals nonprofit founder Deb Newman invited interested parties to the Senior Center on Monday afternoon for a presentation on how to deal with rats humanely.
Periodically throughout the summer, residents voiced their concern about what they described as an increased rat presence in town, specifically in the Humphrey Street neighborhood. In response, Public Health Director Jeffrey Vaughan released information with examples of how residents can best prevent the rodent from inhabiting peoples’ properties, including only storing trash in tightly secured barrels, not leaving pet waste around, and keeping plants trimmed and away from residences to discourage rats from sheltering there.
Newman began by providing evidence that she believes demonstrates that the “Black Death” plague was actually caused by human parasites, such as fleas and body lice, instead of rats.
“Wildlife is not an enemy army coming to destroy our way of life,” Newman said. “They’re sentient individuals with their own purpose, just like us, who want to work, eat, find shelter to protect our babies, and avoid pain.”
She named fecal matter as a significant attractor for rats, and described both the sewage overflow at local beaches and pet waste as reasons for their presence.
“Rats do love poop,” Newman said. “If you’ve seen tied, full dog-poop bags on streets or lawns around town, they haven’t been left by lazy dog parents, but were dragged by rats from unsecured trash bins.”
Newman named glue traps, snap traps, and electrically charged traps as examples of commonly used devices that she feels are inhumane. As an alternative, she proposed using Contrapest, an oral birth-control supplement.
“Contrapest is delivered as bait in the form of food pellets,” Newman said. “Studies around the Boston metro area have been successful in decreasing overall rat population at the testing sites.”
During a Select Board meeting in July, Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald brought up how carbon dioxide was effectively used in the vicinity of Monument Avenue to reduce the rat population. However, he said he would prefer poison not be used as a primary method to address the issue. Newman expressed her distaste for that particular method, and encouraged the attendees to urge Fitzgerald to consider the alternative she discussed.
“I told him I was upset, we had a whole conversation,” Newman said. “He is not a proponent of killing everything.”
