New York City offers £139k for rodent czar to fight ‘relentless' rat population

New York's mayor is offering up to £139,000 ($170,000) per year for a "somewhat bloodthirsty" rat tsar to take the fight to the city’s "relentless" rodent population.

Mayor Eric Adams' office is seeking a "director of rodent mitigation" whose job duties will include developing rat mitigation strategies and overseeing hands-on extermination techniques.

“The ideal candidate is highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty, determined to look at all solutions from various angles, including improving operational efficiency, data collection, technology innovation, trash management, and wholesale slaughter,” the listing, posted this week, reads.

“Cunning, voracious, and prolific, New York City’s rats are legendary for their survival skills, but they don’t run this city – we do,” claimed the posting, which offers a salary range between $120,000 and $170,000.

Applicants are expected to have a crafty sense of humour and “to lead from the front, using hands-on techniques to exterminate rodents with authority and efficiency.”

The somewhat tongue-and cheek listing is another stage in New York's war on rats, which has seen lawmakers trying to control the rodent population for generations.

Mr Adams, who used to be the borough president of Brooklyn, declared his hatred for rats in a Twitter post, as he denounced the scourge of the city's "relentless rat population".

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio focused his strategy on more rubbish collections and better housing inspections in targeted areas, though the results were mixed.

A programme was also launched to try and use dry ice to suffocate some of the city's estimated two million rats in their hiding spots.

Despite such efforts, sightings of rats in parks and sidewalks in the city have recently increased.

In April, people called in 7,400 rat sightings to the city’s 311 service request line, up from about 6,150 during the same period last year.

Last year, at least 13 people were hospitalised - one died - because of leptospirosis, a condition that attacks the kidneys and liver. Most human infections are linked with rats.

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