The introduction to this actual real-life course being taught in New York City, that people are really taking, states: "The one-day workshop, which teaches students how to stuff dead mice and pose them up as if they were humans, is becoming a popular pastime in New York." That is correct, fellow New Yorker, you can now take that mouse that has been invading your box of Kashi Puffs and stuff it like a trophy after you kill it. But you might want to avoid the classic snap trap in this case? Let's turn to the experts at Morbid Anatomy (we visited their mummification class last year), where they describe the four-hour long process in more detail: more ›

Today we offer you up a couple of Brooklyn's oddest animal pairings of the past. First up, in the early 1950s, two porcupines from the Amazon Jungle moved in with Marion and Paul McMichael (a New York Zoological Society member) of Brooklyn. The vegetarian creatures were named Gerald and Geraldine, and were reportedly "affectionate and playful... clean and do not destroy furniture." However, if they wanted to play, they would "nip at [one's] ears," which is incredibly terrifying considering they are described as having "rodent teeth." On the upside, they would not shoot their quills at their hosts, and removing the quills from the rug was "the only tough job." And probably all worth it to see the prickly pair dining on cornmeal at a candlelit dinner table. more ›

While we remember fighting over the ambulance in day care (you know who you are, ambulance hoggers), we don't recall interacting with rodents until our first apartment. Eight-month-old Alanah Barba was recently found playing with a mouse in her mouth at a Newark day care center. "Lately, she's been vomiting. Everything she's eaten, she's throwing it back up," Alanah's mother Brittany tells ABC. On the other hand, it's never too early to read your children Stuart Little. more ›

Over the past few months, the Health Department has put the kibosh on many a beloved Brooklyn food institution (see: Di Fara, Turkey's Nest), but now, the DOH has shuttered an actual Brooklyn institute—the City Tech cafeteria—for a slew of health code violations so egregious you may very well lose your lunch. more ›

If you've wandered up Bedford Avenue lately in search of a cheap oversized margarita in a Styrofoam to-go cup, you've probably noticed, and been bitterly disappointed, that perennial dive-bar favorite Turkey's Nest Tavern has been shuttered since last week. It's a real blow to the neighborhood's legions of drunk McCarren park picnickers, and the cranky old men who stare at them. more ›

Looks like the NYPD has found a friend in PETA. According to City Room, mice that make their way to the Police Headquarters in Lower Manhattan used to meet their maker after stepping into a glue trap, but when PETA got wind of this, they proposed alternatives: neck-snapping traps, that they say are more humane since the critter doesn't have to struggle towards a drawn-out death. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly was all for it, and now NYC's Finest have been given a Compassion Award by the animal rights organization. Now, about their mounted unit... more ›

The city has put its pest infestation statistics online, allowing New Yorkers to see just how vermin-ridden our neighborhoods really are. The new Environmental Public Health Tracking Portal allows visitors to create maps depicting the percentages of households infested by roaches as well as rats and mice. more ›

This town is crawling with mice and rats and terrifying mutant cockroaches, so it's funny WABC "Eyewitness News" is so shocked to find the city school system has a bit of a rodent problem. The fact that school lunch is unappetizing isn't exactly flashing-siren news, but this is revolting nonetheless: Records obtained through Freedom of Information show that 545 school cafeterias had one or more critical health violations, and about one-third of those violations were for mice and mice droppings. Perhaps student Jose Rodriguez said it best: "Nasty. It's disgusting, but it's really not surprising." more ›

The animals scored another point against the humans at JFK this past Sunday. Reportedly a mouse (eek!) was running rampant around a Delta aircraft waiting to depart for London. Upon being spotted, the captain refused to operate the flight, "fearing the rodent might gnaw through some critical wiring and put the entire aircraft at risk high over the Atlantic." And now we have a new reason to fear flying. more ›

This weekend Sunnyside, Queens residents stood up for their local feline friends. NY1 reports that "Anita DiSarli organized a rally Saturday to alert the public to what she calls a problem of animal abuse by some area store managers. She says they house cats, but intentionally keep food away from them so they will be more eager to catch mice." The 99-cent store and National Liquidators on Queens Boulevard are allegedly slowly killing the cats via this neglect--some have been rescued and diagnosed with eye problems, jaundice and other ailments. Mickey, one of the rescued cats, has "doubled in weight, going from six to 12 pounds in just under a month," his new owner saying he's "Friendly as hell, sleeps next to my leg, climbs on my chest. He's been so starved for attention." [via Queens Crap] more ›

The earlier reports of the city’s sudden shutdown of Veniero’s pastry café have been followed up with some rather revolting details, sent to Eater by a tipster at the Department of Health. The beloved East Village institution, founded in 1894 by Antonio Veniero, had posted a sign on the door next to the DOH sticker blaming the shut-down on a “pest problem” caused by “a large Capital Improvement Project.” Pest problem, indeed:

Veniero’s Café was closed on Tuesday, May 6 following an inspection that found a vermin and rodent infestation. Over 300 mice droppings were found in six separate areas of the café. Two dead mice were found, live roaches were observed, and mice droppings were found in a 10 lb box of chocolate... Other conditions contributing to the closing were substantial amounts of food that were in uncovered containers, garbage accumulation, and six holes in walls that would allow rodents to enter.

For the second time in as many years, the famous Stage Deli in Manhattan was shuttered by the Dept. of Health after inspections found the restaurant infested with vermin. The Times Square institution was last closed in mid-2006 after it accrued too many points during a health inspection (points are for violations and a score above 28 is a failure.) As reported in The New York Times, the DOH inspected the Stage last Wednesday and assigned it a failing score. The deli was allowed to remain open while it corrected major violations, but a subsequent inspection 48 hours later still resulted in insufficient cleanliness. more ›

The mice at The Mermaid Inn’s East Village location picked a mischievous moment to scurry out into the dining room a few nights ago – as luck would have it a writer for Time Out New York was there waiting for a table! The immodest mice must have been looking for their 15 minutes of fame, because they timed their appearance perfectly with TONY staffer Jordana Rothman’s emergence from the bathroom. more ›

Cats in delis: they are ubiquitous, loved, objected to, necessary, and illegal. City inspectors are constantly on the prowl to ferret out deli felines, but deli owners say they are necessary fixtures to keep their businesses free of pests like mice, rats, and roaches. The New York Times has a story today on the ongoing battle between the city and the cats that are the sentinels of its delis--feline samurai who serve their masters in return for food, shelter, and the occasional scratch behind the ears.

To store owners, the services of cats are indispensable in a city where the rodent problem is serious enough to be documented in a still popular two-minute video clip on YouTube from late February (youtube.com/watch?v=su0U37w2tws) of rats running amok in a KFC/Taco Bell in Greenwich Village. Store-dwelling cats are so common that there is a Web site, workingclasscats.com, dedicated to telling their tales.