Animal rescue volunteers in New York are racing to find homes for more than 450 pet rats found in a condemned house in the New York City suburbs. The group of about 10 volunteers with the Strong Island Animal Rescue League has spent the past couple of weeks rounding up the domesticated white rodents at the home in Rocky Point, about 70 miles east of Manhattan on Long Island. With about 30 more rats still to catch and a major winter storm quickly approaching, rescuers are accelerating their efforts.
The rescue operation demonstrates both the challenges of addressing animal hoarding situations and the commitment of rescue networks across multiple states to prevent widespread animal deaths.
The Rescue Operation
The rescue effort is racing against time and weather. Volunteers working with a local animal hospital are nursing the rats back to health. “What makes it challenging catching rats is that they’re in the walls, they’re everywhere,” said Frankie Floridia, president of the Strong Island Animal Rescue League, as he wrapped up a rescue attempt Thursday.
Many of the rescued rats are infected with mites and suffering from eye infections, bite wounds and other ailments. Only about 10 of the 450+ rats have been euthanized so far, said Erica Kutzing, the rescue group’s vice president.
The broader rescue network has already placed more than 200 rats in permanent or temporary arrangements including fostering or adoption by local families. Rescue groups in Virginia, Connecticut and other states have taken in more than 50 of the creatures, with volunteers working to transport them safely to their new out-of-state homes.
Finding New Homes
The rescue league is still seeking homes for more than 200 of the rats. Volunteers are encouraging potential adopters to take in two or three rats at a time, as the animals are not solitary creatures.
“These rats deserve a second chance,” Floridia said. “They’re clean animals and can be friendly, like a hamster. They make wonderful pets.”
Kutzing praised the broader response to rescue efforts. “A lot of people find them to be less desirable animals or pets, and kind of outcasts of the animal world,” she said. “And so when you love the underdog and you care about the underdog, you tend to be a kinder person.”
Why Hoarding Spirals
The rodent infestation appears to have been a case of the homeowner’s situation spiraling out of control rather than a deliberate breeding operation, Kutzing said. Rats reproduce rapidly, giving birth roughly every 20 days to litters of nearly a dozen babies. Though they live only two to three years, they reach maturity in just weeks.
“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.
Criminal Accountability
The homeowner has been charged with animal cruelty, neglect and endangering the welfare of a child. Police said a toddler had been living in the house for weeks in unsanitary conditions where the floors were covered in rat feces and urine and rodents roamed freely.
The homeowner pleaded not guilty at her arraignment earlier in January, according to prosecutors.