Eckerd has a rat problem. There, I’ve said it. We’ve all witnessed the rats scurrying by our dorms at night and heard their little rustling in the bushes during the day. Some, unluckier, residences on campus even hear them in the ceiling. With all the commotion, Eckerd has decided it needs to get rid of the rats.
Before the new rat traps on campus, I had never witnessed a dying rat in my three years at Eckerd. Shocking, I know, but I have had the luck of only witnessing the little guys scurrying around in the bushes or darting around at night around the Pub.
Within the span of two weeks this semester, I witnessed a small mouse dying in the middle of the sidewalk and a rat scraping its head against the ground, walking in circles as it took its final breaths. In both instances, I called EC Wildlife Rescue, and they came to pick up the little guys. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to be done once the rats have ingested the poison, other than give them a place to comfortably die beyond the eyes of gawking students.
Of course, we all know that rats are a problem, in the human sense of the word. Although the rats are just doing their daily tasks of running around and living, they disturb our peace. Beyond the fact that they are simply existing, we also have to come to terms with the fact that they are, technically, unsanitary. Eckerd has to do something about the rats, no matter how we students feel about them. At the end of the day, Eckerd has to follow health standards, but is this really the way to do it?
For a college that prides itself on being environmentally friendly and boasts majors that supposedly teach students how to be environmental stewards, why are we okay with these inhumane traps? Beyond the harm it does to the rats, anything that eats the infected rodents is then also poisoned, and yes, this includes campus favorites like snakes, owls and hawks.
I get that we have a rat problem, and I’m not saying to just let it continue, but I do think there are other, viable options. Spring-loaded rat traps offer a much better solution than tormenting the poor creatures for weeks. Another option for rodents outside is using dry ice in burrows, which essentially puts the rats to sleep and offers a much more peaceful death. Both options are the best we can do, other than preventative measures (such as closing gaps in buildings and having secure trash bins), and both are significantly more humane. Other animals would be safer as well, so why don’t we stop literally torturing these poor creatures and use a method that doesn’t result in them dying painfully on the sidewalk?