Dogs, volunteers hunt brazen rodents

Peta described the hunts as archaic, depraved and illegal

New York, May 23: Late on a Friday night, eight dog enthusiasts and their pet pooches prowl several dark alleys in New York’s Lower East Side with one mission: To hunt and kill as many rats as possible.

The dogs, mostly terriers, pant and strain at their leashes before diving into trash bags and emerging seconds later with a convulsing rodent between their teeth.

“They’re bred for the job. They're wired for the job. They live for the job,” explained Richard Reynolds,

organiser of the Ryders Alley Trencher-fed Society, or R.A.T.S. for short.

New York’s furry rodents are notorious. Legend has it there are as many rats in the city as humans (some eight million), with publichealth officials regularly testing new techniques to control the population, including placing dry ice in rat burrows to asphyxiate them.

Shortly into the Coronavirus crisis, America’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of “unusual or aggressive rodent behaviour” after restaurants and offices closed, disrupting food sources. That hasn’t deterred the men and women volunteers of R.A.T.S. and their dogs. They have been chasing vermin for about 30 years and have maintained their nocturnal meets during the pandemic, albeit slightly less regularly.

Shorter-legged dogs such as Jagdterriers flush out rodents from piles of garbage, construction debris and bushes while faster, longer-legged dogs like

Bedlingtons stand ready to pounce.

“It’s a bit like X-Men,” says Alex Middleton, a 36year-old dog trainer. “Each dog has its own superpower.” Reynolds, 77, will sometimes pound trash cans with a metal stick to send rats scurrying, while Middleton frequently drops Rommel, a Jagdterrier, straight into dumpsters.

“Go on Rommel, get it,” the group shouts, as the dog thrashes around in the rubbish. Moments later, following several squeaks, Rommel, blood dripping

back, from his mouth, appears with the rat, and the hunters cheer.

The rat catchers pick up the carcasses by their tails and deposit them in a single-strap fabric bag. Its contents will be emptied and counted at the end of the night. “The newer members share carrying the bag,” said 28-year-old Sophia Pierce.

Animal rights group Peta’s senior director Stephanie Bell described the hunts as “archaic, depraved and illegal