Great news! We raised the full amount to pilot rat contraceptive for a year. Thank you, thank you!
Our trial will start in August. We have all the volunteers lined up and the training will be in early August..
The Chicago Bird Alliance is hosting a webinar on the Rat Contraceptive Pilot Program on Wednesday, July 30th at 6 pm Central. Project members will be on hand to answer questions, and to describe the dangers of rat poison and the alternative of contraceptives to control the rat population. Register for the webinar here.
Chicago Bird Alliance & Alderman Timmy Knudsen Announce Rat Contraceptive Pilot in Lincoln Park
Chicago, IL - Chicago Bird Alliance & 43rd Ward Alderman Timmy Knudsen are collaborating with several groups to pilot a year-long study of rat contraceptives, starting this summer. The non-toxic contraceptive is offered in food pellets called WISDOM Good Bites™, developed and produced by the non-profit WISDOM Good Works.
Through decades of use by the City of Chicago, it has been made clear that rat poison (rodenticide) does not substantially reduce rat populations. Moreover, it can be lethal to some birds and mammals, including pets. Our local wildlife — from owls and hawks, to squirrels, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and opossums — is in danger. Consuming rat poison directly or through poisoned prey causes a slow, painful death to any animal that accumulates enough of it.
Last spring, we saw the damage that rat poisons do. An entire Great Horned Owl family died in Lincoln Park just weeks after the owlet left the nest. All three causes of death were confirmed as rodenticide by Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn.
Matt Igleski, Executive Director of Chicago Bird Alliance, says, “Witnessing the devastating effects of rodenticide poisoning in real-time, with the family of Great Horned Owls in Lincoln Park, is a wake-up call. We believe that this pilot will not only prove to be more effective at controlling rats, but it will also save urban raptors from suffering needless deaths due to rodenticide poisoning.”
One of the most frequent constituent service requests received by the 43rd Ward is for rat abatement. Often in alleys, rats impact all Chicagoans' quality of life. Alderman Timmy Knudsen, says “Chicago’s current use of rat poison is not reducing the targeted population. When any strategy consistently does not work, it is essential that we as government officials innovate for a more effective approach. I am proud to partner with Chicago Bird Alliance to bring a ‘rat birth control’ pilot to Lincoln Park, and I am confident this pilot will achieve positive results. When it does so, I look forward to pitching this program to City Council to scale this approach city-wide so that the rat population is reduced in every Chicago neighborhood.”
There is a strong team of experts behind this initiative:
Scientist and rat expert Dr. Maureen Murray of the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute is conducting the study.
Alderman Knudsen helped select a site in the 43rd Ward., and his team is notifying neighbors
The Department of Streets and Sanitation Deputy Commissioner, Gloria Pittman, is working alongside our team to track the results of he pilot. If successful, we will continue our partnership with the Department of Streets and Sanitation's Bureau of Rodent Control to replicate this pilot in other wards.
Wisdom Good Works is supplying the contraceptive pellets.
Deputy Commissioner Gloria Pittman expressed the department's interest in the contraceptive to enhance its current strategy, "The Department of Streets and Sanitation remains committed to utilizing proven, effective methods to manage the rodent population. Though rodenticide is the most well-known, our rodent management methods are diverse, including cart and refuse management, construction and demolition coordination, and community education and door-to-door engagement, which we have expanded to more areas in the city. We welcome any and all new approaches that demonstrate measurable success in enhancing our current efforts, and look forward to monitoring this pilot closely for future expansion."
The trial will take place near Lincoln Park, where the owls met their deaths, and is slated to begin in late July. The food pellets are dispensed in special rat-feeder boxes.
For more details, visit https://chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com/campaigns/save-the-owls.