Government

Virginia Could Inherit Occupy DC’s Rat Infestation Due To Bizarre Vermin-Relocation Program, AG Worried

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli Worried About Occupy D.C. Rat ProblemVirginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has a lot on his plate — from GOP primary candidates being barred from the state’s ballot boxes to…”rat explosions.” According to a report by CNSNews, Cucinelli is worried that a new D.C. law governing how pest control handle vermin infestations may result in entire rodent “families” being relocated across the Potomac River into Virginia. Sound bizarre? Read on.

The rat problem has come to light due to the growing infestations around the Occupy D.C. encampents at Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square. Something needs to be done with these rats, but what?

Cuccinelli said D.C.’s new rat law, the Wildlife Protection Act of 2010, is “crazier than fiction” because it requires vermin not be killed but rather captured, preferably in families, and transferred to a “wildlife rehabilitator.” To make matters “stickier,” according to CNS, neither glue nor traps can be used in the apprehension of these rodents.

The relocation site for these rat colonies? Virginia.

Cuccinelli attempts to explain the madness to CNS:

Deer Mouse

Deer Mouse

The law does not allow pest control professionals “to kill the dang rats,” Cuccinelli told CNSNews.com. “They have to capture them–then capture them in families. [Not sure] how you’re going to figure that out with rats. And then you have to relocate them. That brings us to Virginia. Now, if you don’t relocate them about 25 miles away, according to experts, rodents will find their way back. Well, an easy way to solve that problem is to cross a river, and what’s on the other side of the river? Virginia.”

“So we have real concerns about this ridiculous–ridiculous!–law and we’ve been pretty genial about dealing with D.C. on it,” said Cuccinelli. “But when you see an article like the ‘Rats Occupy Occupy DC,’ it points up the problem that we’re going to have in Virginia because of that–and because D.C’s really outrageous–outrageous!–treatment of these varmints who, for those who don’t remember their history, carried things like bubonic plague. I mean, these are true vermin.”

Listen to Cuccinelli lament the bureaucratic measures he needs to adhere to when dealing with vermin outbreaks:

Brian Gottstein, communications director for Cuccinelli, told CNS that while there are some animals that are exempt from the new law, most are not. CNS explains:

While the law exempts “commensal rodents”– varieties of which most people know (or have seen) as common rats or house mice–the rice rat and deer mouse, which are found in the District, are not defined as commensal and apparently are not exempt from the law. In addition, the new law expands the definition of wildlife and sets the rules for handling it to include raccoons, squirrels,

Rice Rat

Rice Rat

skunks, and other animals that can carry disease, such as rabies. The law applies to trained animal control officers, not to homeowners.

The law (Wildlife Protection Act of 2010.pdf) specifically says that wildlife “shall include any free-roaming wild animal, but shall not include: (A) Domestic animals;  (B) Commensal rodents; (C) Invertebrates; and (D) Fish.”  Commensal rats include the House mouse (Mus musculus), the  Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus), and the Roof rat (Rattus rattus).

“In addition to these particular rats and mice, raccoons, squirrels, skunks and other animals known to carry rabies, Lyme disease, and other diseases are not exempt from the law,” Gottstein said.

But the Occupy encampments may be bringing about other eco-related challenges. Gene Harrington, governmental affairs director for the National Pest Management Association, told CNS:

“I suspect once the Occupy D.C, protesters eventually leave there will be an overly aggressive squirrel population that has gotten too used to being fed by humans.”

Is Occupy D.C. now affecting the balance of the eco-system?

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli Worried About Occupy D.C. Rat Problem

White Foot Mouse

“Under the Wildlife Protection Act, the only legal method pest and wildlife management professionals can use to manage these squirrels will be to live-trap them.  Since the squirrels will associate humans with food there is really no place to relocate them where they would not eventually become a nuisance,” Harrington said.

He continued, “Basically, federal and local government regulations have tied legal District rodent control practices in knots and made the management of such a problem much more complicated than it should be.”

The complete report can be found at CNS.

 

 

Comments (226)

1 2 3 ... 7
  • Smokey_Bojangles
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:36pm

    democRATS.They Ruin Every Neighborhood they are in.

    Smokey_Bojangles  
    • db321
      Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:54pm

      I was confused was this guy taking about the Rats or the Occupiers.

      Report Post » db321  
    • ChiefGeorge
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 12:47am

      You don’t relocate rats, you KILL THEM on sight. Dum azzes!

      Report Post » ChiefGeorge  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 12:58am

      @Chief – that is the best way, exterminate the rats, do not relocate them.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • pamela kay
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 1:00am

      That is funny SMOKEY-BOJANGLES

      Report Post » pamela kay  
    • nzkiwi
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 1:23am

      I don’t really see what the problem is.

      If it is such a “ridiculous–ridiculous!–law”, then change it.

      Why is this not an option?

      Report Post »  
    • SacredHonor1776
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 1:57am

      Release the cats, boys!

      But then you have to clean up the cat overpopulaton…

      Report Post »  
    • USAMEDIC3008
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 1:59am

      Vermin atract vermin,thats why there in D.C.

      Report Post » USAMEDIC3008  
    • brickmoon
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 3:18am

      I wonder how long it would take for the regulation to be annulled if the poor critters were “accidentally” released near the homes of the council members who approved it.

      Report Post » brickmoon  
    • RepubliCorp
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 4:06am

      Drop them off at the white house, Obama will think it is one of his staff

      Report Post » RepubliCorp  
    • GETLIFE
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 4:10am

      How cruel! How can DC even ALLOW the poor Rats to be taken so far away from their homeland.
      DC should just open an endangered-rat breeding center– save these fragile animals from extinction!
      They could call it Ratland “where DC respects and protects its best.”

      BRICKMOON, That would work! Just have to make sure that the council members actually have to pay for the “capture and rehabilitation.”

      Report Post » GETLIFE  
    • SHOWMESTATEGUY
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 4:31am

      @GETLIFE—–

      I like your idea of having a place called “Ratland”. After all, we will need someplace to send all the dem lib vermin after 2012. Ratland sounds like the perfect place for them.

      Of course the King Rat will be named BO.

      Report Post »  
    • Baddoggy
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 4:37am

      Try to enforce that law in my neighborhood. That is about the stupidest new law i have ever heard of.

      If we dont throw out the people who wrote and passed this law we are utter fools.

      Report Post » Baddoggy  
    • robert0418
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 5:55am

      Should they not all go back to Chicago, that’s were the rats came from in the first place..
      If not there change the law and allow them to stay with the Washington rats…

      Report Post » robert0418  
    • cessna152
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 6:22am

      Our country is being run by a freaking mental institution. Time we “medicate” these dopes!

      Report Post » cessna152  
    • t00nces2
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 6:44am

      Perhaps Virginia has not passed a law that spares rats and other pesky vermin. The Virginia animal control can sit on the border and an exchange can be made (humanely) from the DC pest control to the Virginia pest control…. Call it rat rendition

      Report Post »  
    • drago
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 6:44am

      Are we tired of “all” the rats yet? Its past time to take the country back, by force if necessary…..

      OMG….

      Report Post »  
    • TomFerrari
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 7:21am

      Until such time as we abolish the EPA and DC is no longer reigned by left wing wackos, I think @tunces has the solution. Let VA kill them. Although it belies logic why any state or municipality could take their LIVE TRASH (rats), and dump it on their neighbor’s lawn!!!

      VA should pass a law prohibiting the transport of “pests” across their state line, with a fine of $1million per incident. Then, build a 40 acre glue trap along the Patomic! As the rats die on the glue trap, VA’s new law should require that their lifeless carcasses be returned to their native point of origin, so as not to disrupt the NATURAL ecosystem.

      Report Post » TomFerrari  
    • HuckleberryFriend
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 8:52am

      @NZKIWI
      I don’t believe the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia have the rights or ability to change the laws of the District of Columbia, and obviously for the folks in DC, this law is not a problem because it sounds like it fits into the progressive agenda (I kid you not, let me explain)
      A. Wildlife, even vermin, has a higher priority than the needs of man. Maybe we could create a Rat Credit Exchange in Chicago
      B. It costs the tax payers more money to have the rats disposed of in this manner. STIMULUS
      C. DC gets what it wants, screw everyone else. The ends justify the means.

      Report Post » HuckleberryFriend  
    • Ruler4You
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 9:19am

      Leave it to #$%@& politicians to not recognize the health problems associated with vermin. Politicians are just as useless as these rats.

      Report Post » Ruler4You  
    • Wolf
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 9:53am

      The rats are protected species- that is just too funny. LMAO over the green weenies and how their decisions are coming back to bite them in the azz. God sure does have a sense of humor.

      Report Post »  
    • Ray2447
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 10:20am

      We can’t have D.C. overrun with rats. Another trillion dollars of taxpayer money should take care of the pproblem, or better yet, just have an election and vote them out.

      Report Post »  
    • Ray2447
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 10:25am

      Give them all to PETA, but charge them a wildlife management fee on each one they “relocate.”

      Report Post »  
    • NOBAMA201258
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 11:06am

      We kill babies,thats right ,BABIES, by the millions yet we can’t kill rats? Why ? Were they given names so they can vote? This is another example of the liberal insanity that has gripped this nation,are they afraid of losing the PETA vote? Or are they some of our liberal Blaze posters? Sounds like some job creation by those ows vermin

      Report Post »  
    • Buck Shane
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 12:35pm

      OWS,
      DC,
      Rats,
      well, if this is not off topic, birds of a feather flock together.

      Report Post » Buck Shane  
    • Jim in Houston
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 1:37pm

      db321: What’s the difference?

      Report Post »  
    • getalong
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 2:36pm

      Tell the rat occupiers to GO HOME! ….and I am not talking about the ones with four paws. Enough is enough of this insane occupy movement. It is killing businesses, and now has become a major health problem. It these idiots who sit around all day in the streets want to change America, they will have to get off their fricking asses, put down their “rules for radicals” books, and WORK. Or perhaps they should just move their A– to Europe. Good riddance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Report Post »  
    • independentvoteril
      Posted on January 15, 2012 at 12:46am

      @ROBERT0418.. best not for them to come back to CHICAGO people are fed up with the rats already there including the new mayor..back in the day people used the rats for target practice….

      Report Post » independentvoteril  
    • banjarmon
      Posted on January 15, 2012 at 1:03am

      We need a good old fashion RAT KILLING in DC using a stick…I use to do that in my Uncle’s dairy barn!!!

      Report Post » banjarmon  
    • Secret Squirrel
      Posted on January 15, 2012 at 10:36am

      .
      “Vermin-Relocation Program” from Washington?
      We already have that. It’s called elections.

      Report Post » Secret Squirrel  
    • KenInIL
      Posted on January 15, 2012 at 3:14pm

      Sounds like councilwoman Chay wants more wildlife in her neighborhood. That’s where I would put the rats!!

      Report Post »  
    • Mel632
      Posted on January 16, 2012 at 1:07am

      Who comes up with these crazy rules about capturing rats in families, how would anyone recognize a family, they all look alike, these people should be locked away.

      Report Post »  
  • The Woot
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:33pm

    You guys are as bad as the legislator…..go read the first page of the act and see what is not coverd:

    (5) “Wildlife” shall include any free-roaming wild animal, [b]but shall not include:[/b]
    (A) Domestic animals;
    [b](B) Commensal rodents;[/b]
    (C) Invertebrates; and
    (D) Fish.

    Report Post » The Woot  
    • MrMagoo
      Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:38pm

      Dammit,no politicians on the list!

      Report Post » MrMagoo  
    • sasquatch08
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 12:36am

      Got a link there buddy?

      Report Post »  
    • Bill Rowland
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 5:59am

      Yes there is, wharf rats and skunks. Just move them into the capitol building and they won’t even be noticed.

      OMG

      Report Post »  
    • quicker
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 8:49am

      Yes the politisions are covered .Look at invertebrates

      Report Post » quicker  
    • VAWCO
      Posted on January 15, 2012 at 8:15am

      The definition of Commensal rodents is roof rat, Norway rat, and house mouse. Does not include white footed mouse, deer mouse, and marsh rice rat. All of which live in the District.

      Report Post »  
  • another pucker
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:33pm

    Remember! NUDGE! Hello Cass Sunstein! Next thing you know they will be giving the RATS Rat Lawyers! I say Cuccinelli should be getting this info out to all in Washington D.C. that they now have to trap their rodents with a live trap and you better make sure you have the whole family. I see a black market for rodent bait in D.C.

    Oh wait! Maybe we are all wrong maybe she is talking about the rats that infest the capital and the white house!

    Report Post »  
  • 54smom
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:31pm

    DO you suppose the people were this stupid during medieval times when they had the Plague?? Heaven help us all.

    Report Post »  
    • sawbuck
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 6:09am

      54smom .
      You got that right…heaven help us.

      My first thought “if this story carries any water” ..
      Is the “Hantavirus” Rodent carrying disease.
      Bedbugs making a comeback, bird flue , swine flue.
      Time to stock up on hand sanitizer … Clorox and a truck load of mouse traps.

      Report Post » sawbuck  
    • independentvoteril
      Posted on January 15, 2012 at 12:48am

      a good cat and a rat terrier would do the trick.. to keep the cat population under control you could have them fixed they will still hunt..

      Report Post » independentvoteril  
  • Dougral Supports Israel
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:31pm

    Mice in the house? Don’t check the law, don’t ask the government, just liquidate them the time honored way and save your sanity. Those in charge are the inmates in the asylum.

    Report Post »  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 9:13am

      The American people put a rat in the White House so, it’s not just the people in charge.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
  • GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:30pm

    ….and please don’t forget the angry black cow infestation at 1600 Penn. Avenue….

    Report Post » GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas  
  • BetterDays
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:28pm

    Actually I was thinking that the democRATS that wrote these laws must be part of the rat families, so just round up every democRAT and all other vermin, put in a gigantic steel walled container and let them work out a last rat standing arraignment. Then kill the last rat, problems solved, lots of problems, like socialist agendas in America, UN agenda21, it could catch on all over.

    Report Post »  
  • MrMagoo
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:27pm

    All the rats go there.Where‘s there’s a population,many more follow.

    Report Post » MrMagoo  
  • Confederate Abolitionist
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:27pm

    Virginia ought to build a state ratapult that can throw them back acropss the river when they are
    recaptured.

    Report Post »  
    • Mateytwo Barreett
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 1:29am

      Ratapult? !!!! Berr out the nose!!

      Report Post » Mateytwo Barreett  
    • Firefighter 538
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 11:27am

      Perhaps some type of air or propane canon, like a pumpkin gun that can throw them back at DC. There could be competitions, and it could be on ESPN or the Discovery Chanel with cash prizes for the winners!

      Report Post » Firefighter 538  
  • The Woot
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:27pm

    I didn’t read the whole act , but I think someone in Va Gov’t should check this out. I found this on the first page of the act:

    (5) “Wildlife” shall include any free-roaming wild animal, but shall not include:
    (A) Domestic animals;
    (B) Commensal rodents;
    (C) Invertebrates; and
    (D) Fish.

    Comensal rodents include rats and mice….duh.

    Report Post » The Woot  
    • becca_leigh
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 12:11am

      While the law exempts “commensal rodents”–varieties of which most people know (or have seen) as common rats or house mice–the rice rat and deer mouse, which are found in the District, are not defined as commensal and apparently are not exempt from the law. In addition, the new law expands the definition of wildlife and sets the rules for handling it to include raccoons, squirrels, skunks, and other animals that can carry disease, such as rabies.

      Report Post » becca_leigh  
  • ares338
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:25pm

    You mean the OWSers are moving to Va.?

    Report Post » ares338  
  • Psychosis
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:25pm

    i know how to fix all three problems

    problem one the vermin ……………………..shoot them

    problem two the vermin ………………………… shoot them

    problem three the idiot politicians and regulators writing these stupid laws

    well, you get the idea

    Report Post » Psychosis  
    • Latter-Day-Soldier
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 4:29am

      I have a solution for relocating all the “rodent families”, relocate them to the politicians and policymakers neighborhoods….such as their front yards, then “release” them into an obviously more accepting environment.

      Report Post » Latter-Day-Soldier  
  • becca_leigh
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:24pm

    so the wealthiest area in the country is up in northern va near dc….they will be so livid!! all I know is that if those vermin make it down to va beach, I’ll set up traps all around the outside of my house!! peta’s hq is in norfolk….they can stop them all “humanely”

    Report Post » becca_leigh  
  • dealer@678
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:24pm

    When he said you cant get rid of em. Was he talking about rats or occupiers. They both look and smell the same

    Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:44pm

      Now that wasn’t kind … to the rats!

      Report Post »  
    • Latter-Day-Soldier
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 4:31am

      As a kid, I had rats as pets; but unlike the Occupiers, rats keep themselves quite clean.

      Report Post » Latter-Day-Soldier  
  • KangarooJack
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:24pm

    There’s a part of me that really wishes Dec. 21, 2012 brings a surprise…lol

    Report Post » KangarooJack  
  • mrzmac
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:20pm

    oh hell no…not in my backyard!

    Report Post »  
  • becca_leigh
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:19pm

    oh hell no!! the dirty liberals caused the rat problem, SEND THEM TO MARYLAND!!!

    Report Post » becca_leigh  
  • chevy68
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:19pm

    More liberal laws that will cost the taxpayers more money. We should kill them.

    Report Post »  
  • MartyTr
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:18pm

    Rat problem with occupiers, they use a large blow up rat as their mascot!!!

    Report Post »  
  • KangarooJack
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:18pm

    PETA ought to be forced to live with their own conscience!

    Report Post » KangarooJack  
    • TXPilot
      Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:25pm

      Maybe Virginia can put a positive spin on things….”Virginia….come for the history, stay for the plague”….I think it’s wonderful that our Communist masters are providing jobs for retarded people, and letting them write laws and stuff. How soon, til we see people being dragged off to jail for killing vermin in their own houses?….I can imagine the charges if you have an exterminator come do it…….after all, it will be considered to be “hiring a contract killer”…..sheesh…

      Report Post » TXPilot  
  • CatB
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:18pm

    Insanity … relocate them ? … Virginia should start patroling the border and refuse to let the rats in!

    Report Post »  
  • TRONINTHEMORNING
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:17pm

    Stupidity is killing us. We are allowing ourselves to be destroyed by ourselves. It’s just sick.
    It is indeed, “a time to kill”…..these rats.

    Report Post »  
  • Maxim Crux
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:17pm

    Rodents do tend to stick together. I can’t tell the rats from the rest of the vermin in dc

    Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:23pm

      Seems that politicians don’t want their rat relatives killed but relocated … they need to cover the Virginia state line with glue traps .. it’s legal there …. but they are going to have to clean up after D.C. … like the rest of the country. Disgusting vermin and the rats are a problem also.

      Report Post »  
  • brother_ed
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:16pm

    Who writes these laws?

    Amazing…capture them in families?

    I think Occupy should pay for the clean up.

    Report Post » brother_ed  
    • LadyLibertykicksASS
      Posted on January 14, 2012 at 10:12pm

      I believe capturing them in Family groups would require Identification cards for the Rat Families.
      What‘s to say that they’re not illegal, south of the border rat’s !!!!! Sound like a job for Big Sis and Co.
      LOL

      Report Post »  
  • sister1_rm
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 11:16pm

    That’s insane.

    Report Post » sister1_rm  
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