In a shocking case of pet hoarding, over 450 domesticated white rats have been rescued from a condemned, filthy house in a New York City suburb. The Strong Island Animal Rescue League has been working around the clock to nurse the rodents back to health and find them new permanent homes.
The massive rescue operation began two weeks ago when volunteers from the animal welfare group started rounding up the rats, which were running wild throughout the property in Rocky. Frankie Floridia, the president of the rescue league, estimates that around 30 more rats are still awaiting rescue before a major winter storm hits the region.
“What makes it challenging catching rats is that they’re in the walls, they’re everywhere,” Floridia said as he wrapped up a day of wrangling the rodents. “This is a unique situation. We haven’t had something like this ever.”
The rescued rats are suffering from a range of ailments, including mite infestations, eye infections, and bite wounds, according to Erica Kutzing, the vice president of the rescue group. Despite their poor condition, only around 10 have tragically had to be euthanised so far.
Over 200 rats have already found permanent or temporary homes through fostering or adoption by local families. Kutzing also praised rescue organisations in Virginia, Connecticut, and other states for taking in over 50 of the animals, with volunteers now working to safely transport them to their new out-of-state homes.
Kutzing highlighted the compassion shown towards the often-maligned creatures: “A lot of people find them to be less desirable animals or pets, and kind of outcasts of the animal world. And so when you love the underdog and you care about the underdog, you tend to be a kinder person.”
With more than 200 rats still awaiting placement, the group encourages prospective owners to adopt two or three, as rats are not solitary creatures. “These rats deserve a second chance,” added Floridia. “They’re clean animals and can be friendly, like a hamster. They make wonderful pets.”
Kutzing explained that the rodent infestation appears to have been a case of circumstances spiralling rapidly out of a homeowner’s control, rather than a deliberate breeding operation. She said that rats reproduce quickly, giving birth to litters of almost a dozen babies roughly every 20 days and reaching maturity in mere weeks, despite their relatively short two-to-three-year lifespan.
“It snowballs fast, so if people are struggling with something like hoarding, for example, it’s going to send you deeper into that hole,” Kutzing said.
The homeowner, whose identity has not been released, has been charged with animal cruelty, neglect, and endangering the welfare of a child. Police say a three-year-old child had been living at the house for at least several weeks in unsanitary conditions where the floors were covered in rat faeces and urine, and rodents were freely roaming around.
The homeowner pleaded not guilty at her arraignment earlier this month, according to prosecutors. Her lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
