PETA sends New York Mayor Eric Adams empathy kit for his "vitriolic rat rhetoric"

The well-known animal rights group PETA said it sent New York City Mayor Eric Adams an empathy kit after the U.S. mayor declared he "hates rats" as the city battles a rodent infestation and deals with how to keep its streets properly sanitized and clear of trash.

In a report this year, the New York Times called the "trash problem" in the Big Apple "absurd," writing that the city "has no dedicated space all its own" for trash in New York.

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Tracy Reiman, PETA's executive vice president, said Mayor Adams "should focus on clearing New York's streets of the massive heaps of garbage attracting them (the rats) in the first place."

PETA's empathy kits include items they hope will "actively" help the recipient show "compassion" to others, including animals. The animal rights organization says that Adams has been spouting "vitriolic rat rhetoric" in his public statements. In one of the mugs they sent him, they boldly assert, "Rats Have Rights."

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The group makes it clear multiple times in their public statement that they believe Mayor Adams should do more to push for better rubbish collection in the city; they also say they support the implementation of birth control for rodents and hope city officials will move quickly on that proposed measure.

PETA says “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” and says killing methods, including glue traps, drowning, and poisons, are cruel and ineffective.

The group also says that "decreased competition for available food sources" contributes to "accelerated breeding among survivors." Additionally, they believe that city dwellers should not leave food out, keep trash in chew-proof containers, and never support the use or purchase of wildlife-control products considered to be cruel or ineffective.