New York, December 1 Do I hate parasites? Do you have a killer instinct? A certain bloodthirsty character? New York might have a new job for you: The Big Apple is looking for a new anti-rat boss.
The city, which has been engaged in a fierce and so far unsuccessful battle against these animals for decades, wants to give a new impetus to its fight and for this it intends to hire a director of rodent reduction.
“If you have the spirit, determination, and killer instincts to battle New York City’s relentless rat population, then your dream job awaits,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced via Twitter on Thursday.
The job posting made public by the Mayor’s Office asks potential applicants for a university degree, between 5 and 8 years’ professional experience in urban planning and construction management or government, three references and knowledge of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, among other things. .
But also look for other less common qualities for public office, such as having a “swashbuckling attitude, sense of humor, and a general tough guy aura.”
“The ideal candidate is a highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty individual who is determined to look at all solutions from different angles, including operational efficiency improvement, data collection, technological innovation, waste management and wholesale slaughter”.
Despite the humorous tone of the ad, the compensation for the position is serious: between $120,000 and $170,000 a year.
The hiring of this new “anti-rat leader” is part of the local government’s efforts to deal with the rat problem, which according to several reports has worsened significantly since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Aware that the abundance of rats has already become almost a joke for many, also due to the proliferation of videos on social networks, the New York City Hall is using humor to try to raise awareness of this scourge and promote its new measures against her.
This week, for example, the mayor’s office went on sale a T-shirt illustrated with a caricature of a rodent fleeing in terror with the slogan, “Rats don’t rule the city. We do.”
“Despite their winning strategy with the public and their insolent presence on social networks, mice are not our friends: they are enemies that must be defeated by the united forces of our city government,” jokes the Mayor in her job posting. .
This year, the city passed several laws to try to control the number of rats, including new rules about how long trash can sit on sidewalks before it’s picked up, requiring large construction projects to have an exterminator before receiving permits. or forcing buildings with rodent problems to install special containers.
Although it is very difficult to measure their population, a 2014 study estimated that there are about 2 million rats living in New York City, about a quarter of the number of humans. EFE extension
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