Washington Rats To Become International Film Stars

The nation's capital has a gnawing problem. Its rats may soon be international film stars. All big American cities have rats. But with bluster typical of their political heritage, may Washington residents think their rats are especially audacious, unusually large and particularly abundant.

The rodent infestation plaguing the District of Columbia -- the city has two rats for every resident -- has been lovingly captured in an 80-minute documentary that premieres next week.

Local Film director James Felter, who has spent 18 months putting together the feature he calls -- what else? -- "RATS," plans to enter it in several film festivals, including Sydney and Berlin, key marketplaces for independent directors to hawk their wares for worldwide distribution.

This is not a Chamber of Commerce moment for Anthony Williams, who took office in January promising to polish Washington's image after decades of neglect and mismanagement. But the city officials are fighting back. They have declared war on the point-nosed, beady-eyed, scaly-tailed population which some estimates put at one million.

Williams, in his very first speech as mayor, announced the rats had to go. Vector control is on the job. The D.C. government office charged with taking back the streets is led by chief terminator Bill Page, who knows his quarry. "August is the peak month because it's warmer. People are cooking out, having picnics, there's more food about. The rats are rally lively," he said.

But the city government is on the verge of launching a preemptive strike. Under a scorched-earth policy, officials say rodents will be starved to death and have their homes razed. Rat patrols will raid city businesses for trash violations and unsanitary conditions. After warnings, fines will be levied. The D.C. budget has money earmarked for rat-resistant garbage cans. A rat summit is scheduled for April at which local officials will hold high-level consultations with those from other U.S. cities on how to handle the rodent problem.

But many, including Felter, believe it is a war that cannot be won until the residents also come to terms with the throw-away lifestyle they have so wholeheartedly embraced. In researching America's "garbage culture," Felter found that every American generates an average of 5 pounds of trash per day. In Japan, the figure is half a pound.

The result -- portrayed in the film -- is a system that cannot cope. The documentary is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Nauseating footage of rats scuttling through dark, fetid alleys littered with trash and rotting garbage is relived by people discussing rats, trash and rotting garbage. A self proclaimed "rat-sniper," demonstrates his own solution -- a BB gun and a steady aim. Two homeless men describe life on the street with the repugnant creatures. Marion Barry has a cameo role.

But Washington has upscale rats too. Late last year, several moved into the White House. The General Services Administration eliminated four from the press room and another from the area where President Clintonıs spokesman briefs the media almost every day. A Hamburger box and half-eaten roll had been dragged into a hole supposed to carry telephone wires and computer cables. Washington rats are so brazen, they no longer need the cover of darkness. Almost everyone has had a rat sighting.

Even in fashionable Georgetown, it is not uncommon to see one scurrying over the cobblestones or racing across swaths of parkland in broad daylight. Felter said he was alarmed to learn that the rats had been "literally eating the insides out of Mercedes-Benz and BMWs parked in trendy neighborhoods." Rats share the path by the Potomac River with early morning joggers and forage among tourist scraps on the mall. They lurk around trash cans near restaurants, hotels and offices. Thanks to the easy pickings, city rats are considerably larger than their rural relatives, according to a long list of rat facts on Felter's website. How sickening it is to learn they can swim at least a half-a-mile, tread water for three days, transmit as many as 35 diseases, multiply in the blink of an eye, survive atomic testing and live in packs of more than 200?

See fact No. 20. Government guidelines allow "an average of two rodent hairs per one hundred grams of peanut butter."

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