Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has gotten all worked up over the rumor that DC is catching rats and releasing them into Virginia because city laws prevent extermination.  What?  Is this the rat king of all urban legends?  What is he basing his information on? 

Here is the supposed straight story from the Washington Examiner:

There’s been a lot of buzz over Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s complaint this week that D.C. is trapping rats and dumping them in Virginia because a city law won’t allow animal control to exterminate rats. Cuccinelli’s statement, which was in reference to the rat problem in Occupy DC and came during a WMAL interview, even prompted conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh to spout off on D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh, who proposed the disputed animal rights law.

“This Mary Cheh babe, C-H-E-H, she is the woman behind the D.C. plastic bag tax,” Limbaugh said. On a related note, Limbaugh was “asked” to resign from ESPN’s NFL Countdown show in 2003 for saying that then-Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.

Cheh’s office has received a slew of nasty emails regarding her stance on D.C. rats, prompting Cheh to fire off a news release Thursday morning lamenting the “state of public discourse.”

“[Over] the past few days, the bill has been the subject of some national comment, and as a result, my inbox has been filled with emails disparaging me for requiring rats to be exported rather than killed (again, flatly not true).  Firing off uninformed missives and calling me ‘babe’ must have been easier than actually reading the legislation.
 
“‘Babe’ was, however, not the only four-letter word I was called in the emails. For some examples of the well-reasoned policy suggestions I received, attached is a small sample.  People have asked me whether government emails are censored.  After going through my Council inbox this week, I can tell you that they are not.”

Cheh and her staff have said that the law prohibiting extermination exempts rats. The law says “commensal pests,” which refers to roof rats, Norway rats and house mice and in general refers to rodents that invade human living quarters, according to pest experts

What next?  Garbage, needles, nuclear waste.  Are we the dumping ground for everything.  Apparently not rats.  Where do possoms fit into this plan. It sounds like there is much ado about nothing.  If DC is rat-dumping, then we need to do out own catch and release, right back across the Potomac.  And on the other hand, is Cuccinelli once again jumping on something without finding out facts first?  It sounds like that is the case this time.

23 Thoughts to “Cuccinelli rats out the rat dumpers”

  1. In a “related comment”, I find THIS to be an odd inclusion into the article.

    On a related note, Limbaugh was “asked” to resign from ESPN’s NFL Countdown show in 2003 for saying that then-Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.

    How is this, in anyway, related to the topic, other than Rush did this 9 years ago? Is this supposed to make him look bad someway?

    Anyway….other than the possible relocation of skunks, raccoons, etc….rats do not seem to be included in the “protected” wildlife.

  2. I don’t want their skunks or raccoons either. (or possoms)

    I have no clue why the McNabb stuff was in there. I was too lazy to cut it out. I guess only the conservative Washington Examiner can answer that one.

  3. I guess no one can accuse Cuccinelli of not giving a rat’s ass.

  4. Mom

    Feh, I would prefer their rats to their elected officials.

  5. marinm

    Rats…DC politicians….DC citizens.. I don’t see the difference.

  6. George S. Harris

    Rats and mice are specifically excluded and are fair game for exterminators.

  7. Moon….I seem to have lost a comment.

    I wrote “LOL for your #3. When I didn’t see it, I tried again and was told “duplicate post.”

    So, anyway LOL!

    1. It might have gone in to spam. I will go look. @Cargo

    2. @cargo

      You were caught up in spam.

      I needed to empty it all out anyway. I forget that job.

      Snowing down your way?

  8. marinm

    WashPo is reporting that Maryland is also seeking to make sure that the Occupy Rats don’t leave DC….

    We must erect a wall and man that wall with people with guns to protect our borders from invasion…………………………………………………….

    1. I can support that!!! @ marin

      Mr. Howler says Maryland is a lot closer than Virginia and that we should let them have the rats.

      Some of those DC rats are as big as small possoms.

  9. Rick Bentley

    I believe it’s the case that in Virginia we’re not allowed to kill squirrels? I’ve trapped about 20 of them in the last 20 years and released all a few miles away.

    1. Didn’t they come back to the same nest? @ Rick

      I didn’t realize until the past yeasr or two about the social lives of the nest. I watch one out the window. They are in and out of it year round. Lots of them.

      Someone needs to tell drivers they aren’t allowed to kill them.

      Steve Thomas knows all the squirrel rules. I am not sure if what he knows is for Virginia or just City of Manassas.

  10. Rick Bentley

    sorry, 20 in the last 5 years. Squirrels caused thousands of dollars of damage to my roof, and got in my attic.

    1. @Rick

      Did insurance pay for the squirrel damage? I had them in my attic in Westgate a number of years ago. They made a huge mess and tore up things. They got in through vents so no roof damage. Mr. H wanted to send the cat up the attic for a day. I wouldn’t let him.

      I moved but I still have squirrels lumbering across my room. It sounds like an army is up there. In fact, the day of the earthquake I first thought it was squirrels. Then the ‘uproar’ got to immense I kjnew I had bigger problems than squirrels.

      Several summers ago I bought the cutest little sunflowers in pots and had them lining my walk., They weren’t cheap. I had them out there an hour and came back out to look at them. There were all the pots, with just stems sticking up. NO sunflowers. Some little rat bastard squirrel (or 2) had sheered them all off. I saw one running off across the lower yard towrds the nest in the neighbors’ ocak tree. Guess what he had in his hands and mouth? The last little sunflower. Those things had a 3-4 inch diameter. I was furious.

  11. Censored bybvbl

    @Moon-howler

    The squirrels upended my mother’s impatiens too. Those flowers lasted about a day before they were tossed out of their pots.

    Last week around 11 pm the local raccoon visited our patio after raiding the bird feeder that hangs on the door near the dogs’ beds. The dogs went bonkers but the raccoon kept eating and eventually moved to the back patio where it found the dogs’ tug toy and threw it into the air multiple times. It then ran behind the hot tub, ran out and pounced on the toy, ran behind the grill, raced out and pounced on the toy. It played for about five minutes. I never knew they would play games so similar to cats and dogs. Luckily it hasn’t tried to get into our house although the neighbors haven’t been so lucky.

    1. That is an incredibly cute story. I know people kept them as pets back in the day. I had no idea they played like that though. Rig up a video camera! You could actually turn your patio into a web cam. Watch Rocky or something like that.

  12. marinm

    Going back to #11 and #12 we ought not grant amnesty to these invaders either…

  13. I agree. We even have a moat of sorts to protect us. (from the invaders)

    This blog is getting very rodent-themed. Rats, squirrels, what’s next?

  14. marinm

    Oh, wait. We were talking about rats?

    I thought we were talking about the Mexico/US Border. My bad. 🙂

    1. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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