Rat contraceptive pilot study planned for this summer near Lincoln Park, the Chicago Bird Alliance announces

CHICAGO — An area non-profit organization is planning a pilot study of rat contraceptives, starting this summer near Lincoln Park, in an effort to find a safer and more effective alternative to rat poison.

The Chicago Bird Alliance, a chapter of the National Audubon Society that covers the City of Chicago and its suburbs in Cook County, announced in a recent news release that it’s working with several groups to pilot the study, beginning this summer. Wisdom Good Works will supply the rat contraceptive, which is in pellets that taste like peanut butter, according to the Chicago Bird Alliance.

The trial will take place near Lincoln Park, the Chicago Bird Alliance says. Last spring, according to the organization, an entire great horned owl family died in Lincoln Park just weeks after the owlet left the nest. Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn confirmed all three deaths were the result of rodenticide.

“The sad truth is that rat poison doesn’t reduce rat populations,” the Chicago Bird Alliance said in its release. “It can be lethal to any bird or mammal, including pets. Our local wildlife — from owls and hawks, to squirrels, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and opossums — is in danger.

“Consuming rat poison directly or through poisoned prey causes a slow, painful death to any animal that accumulates enough of it.”

The Chicago Bird Alliance says Dr. Maureen Murray of the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute will be conducting the rat contraceptives study. Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd Ward) and Rafael Rosa, Executive Director of Lincoln Park Conservancy, will partner with the Chicago Bird Alliance on fundraising.

Additionally, the Chicago Bird Alliance says, Gloria Pittman of the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation is working closely with the aforementioned team to track the results of the pilot study. If it’s successful, the Department of Streets and Sanitation will work with the Chicago Bird Alliance and other groups to replicate the pilot study in other wards.

Currently, the Chicago Bird Alliance says it’s in a fundraising phase. The goal is to raise $32,100 to cover the expenses of the study, mainly for the contraceptives. Lincoln Park Zoo is contributing cameras and Wisdom Good Works is contributing feeding stations.

Visit chicagobirdalliance.org for more information.