Rat Poison Sprinkled on Battery Park City Sidewalks Endangers Pets
Rodenticide spread along South End Avenue and Rector Place has caused serious illness in at least one dog, and poses a threat to others. At Tuesday evening’s meeting of Community Board 1, District Manager Lucian Reynolds announced, “someone has been putting rat poison on South End Avenue, and dogs have gotten sick.”
“This is not the Battery Park City Authority,” he added, noting that the agency does not use chemical toxins to curtail the local rat population. (The Authority uses environmentally benign methods, such as stuffing rat burrows with dry ice, which releases carbon dioxide when it melts and suffocates the rats inside.) Local buildings also uses less dangerous methods, such as bait boxes, which pose no threat to dogs.
“No official government agency is doing this,” Mr. Reynolds continued. “Whoever has been doing this hasn’t been identified or caught.” He described the pellets as “blue, small, and animals like to eat it.”
This account was echoed by Paula Galloway, a co-founder of the Battery Park City Dog Association, who said, “blue and green pellets have been found along South End Avenue, between Rector Place and Albany Street, and on Rector Place, near the Esplanade.”
“One local pet owner reported to Le Pet Spa that his dog had been poisoned,” she added. “The dog survived after spending the night in the hospital, but the veterinarian told him that the problem was caused by ingesting rat poison.”
Ms. Galloway referred to people “foolishly taking matters into their own hands in response to having seen rats on the streets.”
“It is important to remember,” she said, “that small dogs are especially vulnerable to this kind of danger.”