Rat Tourism: Exploring New York’s Growing Rat Problem

Thousands of rat colonies in New York have survived by eating restaurant garbage, walking the streets like any other citizen.

Photo: Pixabay

In December of last year, New York Mayor Eric Adams announced that they were on the hunt for a “somewhat bloodthirsty” rat catcher. Eight months later, the rat problem hasn’t gone away, kicking off an unexpected but growing tourism industry: rat tourism.

📝 We suggest: Putin says he is “open to discussions” on the Ukrainian grains agreement

Tour guides have decided to add new stops at notoriously rat-infested sites to their Empire State, Statue of Liberty and Central Park tours. In the streets, tourists stop to watch as the rodents run from restaurants to the sewers, while cheering them on.

Kenny Bollwerk, a tiktoker who became famous for uploading videos from New York, is now a rat guide. After broadcasting a live stream of him recording rats running outside a construction site for more than an hour, which was watched by more than 10,000 people, he now hopes the videos of him will work so that the city will do something about the growing rodent problem.

📌 You may be interested: Will a woman be the next president of Mexico?

“People walk by, there are rats running under people’s feet, there are piles of rubbish on the sidewalk,” he said.

Through his Tik Tok account, he asks citizens to complain to the 311 service, which contacts the city government in non-emergency situations. Bollwerk, who has been contacted by several tourists and business owners to go looking for rodents, says he tries to help people who live in areas plagued by rats.

“The fact that it’s raising awareness about an issue and it’s helping people in their neighborhoods, I think that’s why I keep going out there and doing it. Through this I am meeting so many interesting people that I would never have met,” she said.

📰 We also recommend: Heavy rains in Spain due to the DANA meteorological phenomenon

In April, New York named Kathleen Corradi its “Public Enemy Number One” police officer, in an effort by the city to shed its rat’s nest reputation. By June, rat sightings had decreased by 15% compared to 2022.

Among the measures taken to combat the problem are “rat mitigation zones”, in which areas with large numbers of rats are identified and combated with poison. In addition, new rules on garbage disposal have been introduced, with which restaurants are asked to put garbage bags in containers, instead of throwing them on the street.

👀🌎📄 Have you already heard about the latest news in the world? We invite you to see them in El Espectador.

2023-09-04 12:46:13
#Rat #tourism #York #latest #trend