City Rat

Rats are all around us, especially in New York City. Like them or not, they are a part of our lives here.

I’ve started to dig into the intersection of two undeniable truths: dog is man’s best friend, and rats are an integral (and generally banal) part of any New Yorker’s life. I notice rats all the time: living, dead, late night pizza-stealing rats, squeaking trash rats... just, rats, they’re all around us. Due to the pandemic shutdown of the restaurant industry and increased trash build-up in residential neighborhoods, rats have undertaken more expansive food searches, much to the displeasure of residents and essential workers. One way we intersect with these creatures, scientifically known as Rattus Norvegicus, or more commonly, the Brown Rat, is by hunting them with dogs. This practice was established in the United Kingdom dating as far back as the early 19th Century, and has progressed into a common sport overseas, as well as a hobby-job in the rat-dominated areas of New York City.

This projects follows urban rat hunter, Brooklynite Elias Schewel, who originally adopted his dogs, Sundrop and Moonbeam, to hunt rats and to bond with his animals in a working environment. Schewel has found renewed energy in the rat hunting sphere since New York City shut down in March 2020, and now is working to build a business centered around helping New Yorkers with their rat infestations. A lifelong activist, rats became an integral part of Schewel’s activism during the shutdown, as he used them to protest the NYPD, drawing parallels to their role as parasites specifically within NYCHA communities.