Is DC Sending Its Rats to Fairfax County?

Is Washington sending its rodents to Northern Virginia? Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says yes, the District government says no, and talk radio host Rush Limbaugh blames the whole controversy on "animal rights crap."

In an interview on D.C. talk radio station WMAL, Cuccinelli criticized a 2010 District of Columbia bill that he said prevented exterminators from killing rats, according to DCist.

"And so what's the solution to that?" Cuccinelli told the radio station. "Well, cross a river."

The legislation Cuccinelli criticized prevented certain methods of exterminating some animals like raccoons, requiring them to be relocated or euthanized. At issue was whether the law also protected rats.

The dispute expanded when national radio host Rush Limbaugh complained about the bill on his January 16 radio show, saying the legislation was the result of indoctrination in "animal rights crap," the Washington Post reported.

Virginia isn't the only state concerned about rats from Washington. In Maryland, a Republican state delegate  that he's going to introduce a bill opposing the transportation of rats from D.C. to Maryland.

So, do you need to be wary of rats from the District? Washington's government says the bill, which applies to the humane treatment of some animals, does not affect rats. Factchecking organization PolitiFact rated Cuccinelli's claim that rats are being pushed from D.C. to Northern Virginia as "pants on fire."

Radio station WTOP had a similarly skeptical view of Cuccinelli's claims.