Flaco, who had only just learned to hunt in the wild after a lifetime in captivity, feasted on mice, rats and pigeons. The rodents he hunted were often already poisoned. After ingesting the rodents, the poison in their systems weakened him over time until he was too sick to function.
“I don’t think people understand how slow and painful and kind of horrible this poison is to rats and other animals,” said Quayle.
It’s an excruciating decline, with symptoms like bruising and bleeding under the skin, bleeding in the brain, seizures and difficulty breathing.
Rats and ways to eradicate them have been a major talking point in New York City in recent years. In 2023, then Mayor Eric Adams appointed Kathleen Corradi as the citywide Rat Czar, a $176,000-a-year position with the sole mission of reducing the city’s rat population.
Several methods were implemented, starting with changes to garbage laws, like the “Empire Bins” containerization plan, designed to get trash bags off the curb and thereby minimize rat and stench problems. Many of those efforts have continued under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, but Corradi quietly left the position in late 2025 and was not replaced.
Sealed, rat-proof trash containers called Empire Bins are rolling out in some NYC neighborhoods. Photo: NYC Mayor’s Office
The city has taken other unorthodox approaches to managing the rat population, including a rodent contraception pilot launched in Harlem in 2025. Pilot results have not yet been publicized.
When asked for comment, the Health Department said it continues to evaluate alternatives while working to reduce reliance on rodenticides that may negatively affect wildlife.
At the state level, efforts have been made to ban the sale of anticoagulant rodenticides to the general public, reserving their use only for trained pest control professionals.
Democratic state Sen. Pete Harckham is working to pass his Restriction of Anticoagulant Pesticide Transactions for Online and Retail Stores Act. If enacted, the RAPTORS Act would position New York among a growing number of jurisdictions moving away from widespread reliance on anticoagulant rodenticides in favor of more targeted, preventative approaches.
“The thing to remember is that birds of prey are nature’s exterminators. That’s why they exist: to eat rodents,” said Harckham, who has been an environmental advocate throughout his career, authoring several bills to protect and clean up the state.
“Birds of prey impact the entire food chain. It’s also a horrendous way to die, whether you’re a rodent or a bird of prey. We should be concerned about that.”
Avalon, a red-tailed hawk found near Grand Army Plaza, suffering from rodenticide poisoning. After being found on top of a car drenched and motionless, she was taken to the Wild Bird Fund. There, she recovered enough to return home to her three babies. Photo: Wild Bird Fund
For the bill to become law, Harckham says, a balance must be struck between the needs of exterminators and the environmental community. Some New Yorkers would like an outright ban on anticoagulants, even for pest control professionals. Exterminators have said they are open to limiting use but would still need them in some cases.
“We’re trying to thread that needle. Hopefully next year we can come back with a bill that’s more acceptable to both sides,” Harckham said.
After Flaco’s death, wildlife enthusiasts, including staff at the Wild Bird Fund, hoped the media attention and nationwide public outcry from bird lovers captivated by the owl would result in policy changes that reduced the use of anticoagulant rodenticides.
A shrine to the owl was assembled in Central Park and drew thousands of visitors. Street artists painted murals of him in multiple neighborhoods. Major outlets, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Guardian, ABC, NBC and CBS, eulogized Flaco as a symbol of resilience. Activists, including Lights Out Coalition and Councilmember Shaun Abreu, protested the city’s widespread use of rodenticides.