The Demonization of Rats

A criticism on the wrongful representation of rats in media

LISA ZIVANIC | HAILEY RYU

sports editor/copy editor | writer

Dirty.’ ‘Filthy.’ ‘Cheese-eating mongrels.’ These are the words that often come to mind when we think about rats. Despite society’s perception of these creatures, rats are intelligent, helpful and extremely clean, so why do we keep perpetuating this false narrative?

Rats are constantly demonized by the public eye due to their association with filth and uncleanliness — people often believe they dwell in sewers, spread diseases and dig through our trash for food. Their reputation has been deprecated, with even universal media displaying them as disgusting little creatures. However, these portrayals are not entirely accurate; rats are cleaner and more intelligent than society views them. Remy, the rat in “Ratatouille,” is passionate about becoming a professional chef. Remy practices good hygiene by falling into sinks to bathe before cooking, always

washing his hands and standing on his hind legs, so he does not contaminate food. His behaviors realistically emulate and represent rats’

clean nature.

Not only does Remy demonstrate cleanliness, but he also

“THE RATS ARE ABSOLUTELY GOING TO HATE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. THE RATS DON’T RUN THE CITY. WE DO. ” JESSICA TISCH

reflects the intelligence and practicality of rats. Remy’s passion for cooking sparks when he discovers his unique ability to smell different scents and identify the various ingredient combinations. Remy can also communicate and understand humans, although humans cannot. Fictional rats are not the only ones who possess these traits — real rats are highly intelligent and have a strong sense of smell. These traits allow rats to be useful to humans in many different ways. A research project launched by Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development utilized rats’ ability to smell and their small size to train them to search for victims of natural disasters. They can also sniff out explosives in landmines and tuberculosis, saving millions of people’s lives.

There is a false belief that rats are dirty, disease-carrying creatures that inflict danger onto cities. According to the Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences, human fleas and body lice caused the Black Death — not rats. But society continues to perpetuate this false narrative, and rats face the implications.

“The rats are going to absolutely hate this announcement,” New York City Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference on Oct. 17, 2022. “The rats don’t run the city. We do.”

New York City’s long-time rivalry with rats has painted them as the cock- roaches of the ro-

dent group. At the press conference, Mayor Eric Adams and Tisch unveiled their plan to exterminate rats and rid the city of these invasive crea- tures. They stated rats are not friends of the people of N.Y., and Adams said he is a rat ‘murderer’ because he dislikes rats and will proudly use such a title.

However, the actions of NYC government officials do not reflect accurate information about rats, exterminating them due to citizens’ inconvenience of wild creatures roaming and eating scraps. Contrary to popular belief, rats are extremely clean. According to Tufts Now, rats groom themselves more than cats, making them hygienic.

WebMD states that despite data suggesting that rats and urban critters spread 100 times more pathogens than other mammal species. It is also evident that country rats and city rats do not necessarily carry different

threaten public safety since they are not fully proven to carry more diseases. People wrongfully exterminate rats despite having similar or equal “ RATS ARE CLEANER AND MORE HELPFUL issues to other creatures given fair treatment. Rats are not

THAN SOCIETY VIEWS THEM. ” inflicting harm upon humans, so we have no reason to ridicule and exterminate them. Rats’ wrongful demonization in the public eye has perpetuated false information regarding their safety and purpose in our society — rats are the unsung heroes of the world, acting as working animals that rescue earthquake survivors and identify gun residue. We must work to implement well-rounded rat portrayals that consider their intelligence and characteristics in the media to combat this propaganda. Additionally, spreading awareness and publicly educating the public by acknowledging forms of anti-rat bias will re-contextualize rats in society

amounts of diseases — urban rats happen to be more carefully studied. Food, immune systems or proximity to humans cause discrepancies between city and urban rats. Rats do not further OPINIONS | 11