Unwanted lab rats find new homes and are adopted thanks to an Argentine organization

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A group of people watched three albino rats leap from small baskets into a big cage on Sunday as other rodents hid in makeshift tunnels or searched for applesauce offered by their keeper through the bars at an indoor hall in the Argentine capital.

It's Ratapalooza, an annual Buenos Aires event that promotes the adoption of rodents raised in animal facilities or used for research in science labs — once the animals are no longer useful, have outlived their purpose or are just surplus stock.

To attract adoptive families, Team Ratas, which is Spanish for rats, organizes events such as the Ratapalooza. In Argentina, keeping rats or mice as pets is perfectly legal — as long as they are not wild.

The whole thing turns into something of a fair, complete with stalls selling keychains, mugs, stickers and hair clips in the shape of rats and mice. The money raised goes to veterinary and food expenses for the rodents, which they foster at home before putting them up for adoption.

At one of the stands, María Gabriela Aponte held Camamberto, one of the three rats she has adopted, as she sold vegan food, mouse-shaped pins and stickers.

All of them, she said, were raised in labs, in what is called a vivarium, where laboratory animals are kept under strictly controlled conditions.

“People don’t really know, or they have a very specific perception of, what a pet is," Aponte told The Associated Press. "Rats are very intelligent and sweet."

Dominique Verdier, who represents Team Ratas, says those interested in adopting rodents must have access to a veterinarian specialized in exotic animals, a spacious cage with lots of accessories for their entertainment — and devote at least one hour a day to quality time spent with their adoptees.

Team Ratas is a leader in Argentina and Latin America for rehoming lab rats and mice that — without a foster home — would otherwise be euthanized.

The initiative started in 2016, when Verdier adopted two rats after a friend told her the university where they were used for research no longer needed them.

She set up a rodent rescue network with 90 foster homes in Buenos Aires and nearby towns, housing hundreds of animals from 11 animal facilities and labs. In the last 10 years, she has rescued more than 8,000 animals and found homes for approximately 3,000.

Her organization has more than 60,000 followers on Instagram.

Proximity to rats and mice — and rodents in general — may be raising concerns amid the ongoing deadly hantavirus outbreak on a the ill-fated Atlantic cruise ship MV Hondius after the ship stopped in Argentina earlier this month.

Hantavirus is usually spread by breathing in droppings of contaminated wild rodents, which usually live in Patagonia, in southern Argentina.

Verdier, who fosters most of the 37 rodents at her home, stresses that lab rats are perfectly healthy.

“They do not transmit diseases because they have not had contact with the street nor are they inoculated with viruses and bacteria," she said.

The labs that have been supplying Team Ratas for years only provide animals that have not been infected with any viruses or bacteria.

"Several laboratories prefer to euthanize the animals, while others tell me, ‘Take them away, we don’t want to sacrifice them’,” she added.

Veterinarian Silvina Diaz, at the University of Buenos Aires, studies the nervous system of rats and mice at an experimentation laboratory.

She supports having the rodents find a new home once their lab careers are over.

“It is great that they’re doing this work of rehoming animals in families that can give them a good life," said Diaz, who acts as a liaison between vet technicians and Team Ratas.

Verdier, who insists she will keep finding new homes for the little furry creatures, says she is used to the criticism she gets on social media.

“If people see a dog shelter, they might admire it, but when I mention Ratapalooza they say, ‘What you’re doing is silly’," she said. "And I say that I’ve been doing this for 10 years and it keeps growing.”

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Visitors look at photos of rats during Ratapalooza, an event promoting the adoption and responsible care of former laboratory rats and mice, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Dominique Verdier poses for a photo with Carlota, a former laboratory rat she adopted, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

People look at stands selling rat merchandise during Ratapalooza, an event promoting the adoption and responsible care of former laboratory rats and mice, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Dominique Verdier watches Carlota, a former laboratory rat she adopted, walk on her bed in Buenos Aires, Argentina Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Dominique Verdier holds Carlota, a former laboratory rat she adopted, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal officials implored unions representing workers for the Long Island Rail Road, North America’s largest commuter rail system, to resume bargaining Sunday to prevent a long strike from disrupting the week's commute.

The unions said in a statement that the National Mediation Board, the federal labor agency that governs labor relations for railroads and airlines, summoned representatives for both sides to an afternoon meeting in an effort to jumpstart talks.

Earlier Sunday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, appearing with the chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that runs the railroad more commonly known by commuters as the “LIRR,” urged the unions to try to reach a deal as the walkout entered its second day.

“We all know that the railroad is the lifeblood of Long Island. Without it, life as we know it is simply not possible. The bottom line is, no one wins in a strike. Everyone is hurt,” she said. Hochul offered to provide refreshments.

The LIRR serves hundreds of thousands of commuters who live along a 118-mile-long (190-kilometer-long) land mass that includes Brooklyn and Queens in New York City and the Hamptons, a summertime playground for the rich and famous near its eastern tip. The railroad has long provided commuters relief from its rush-hour clogged highways.

Most of its riders live outside New York City in two counties populated by nearly three million people.

After the news conference, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Transportation Communications Union said in a statement that the union workers “are not asking for special treatment — they are simply fighting to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living in the New York region after years without a raise.”

The railroad closed down and workers went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job for the first time in three decades.

The unions and the MTA have been negotiating for months on a new contract, with talks stalled over the question of workers' salaries and healthcare premiums. President Donald Trump’s administration tried to broker a deal, but the unions were legally allowed to strike starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

At her news conference, Hochul said workers would lose every dollar that they would gain with a new contract by remaining on strike for three days.

Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, has said no new negotiations have been scheduled.

“We’re far apart at this point,” Sexton said Saturday. “We are truly sorry that we are in this situation.”

At Hochul's news conference, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said the unions' proposals would “blow up the MTA’s budget” but he joined the governor's request for the unions to resume talks.

“They elected to walk out. We’re more than willing to meet them halfway on wages,” he said.

The impact of the walkout, the first for the LIRR since a two-day strike in 1994, fell on many sports fans who wanted to see the Yankees and Mets battle or the Knicks’ playoff run at Madison Square Garden, which is located directly above the railroad’s Penn Station hub in Manhattan.

Would-be commuters were greeted all weekend by train schedule departure boards that listed ghost trains marked “No Passengers” rather than upcoming trains listed by destination.

Hochul said essential workers among the roughly 250,000 weekday LIRR riders can take buses into the city from six locations on Long Island starting at 4 a.m. Monday and during an evening rush-hour commute from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Hochul, a Democrat, blamed the Trump administration for cutting mediation short and pushing the negotiations toward a strike. Trump, a Republican, responded on his Truth Social platform Saturday, saying he had nothing to do with the strike and “never even heard about it until this morning.”

“No, Kathy, it’s your fault, and now looking over the facts, you should not have allowed this to happen,” Trump said.

Hochul urged companies and agencies that employ workers from Long Island to let them work from home whenever possible.

“It’s impossible to fully replace LIRR service. So effective Monday, I’m asking that regular commuters who can work from home, should. Please do so,” she said.

The MTA has said the unions’ initial demands to raise salaries would result in large fare increases and be disproportionate to what other unionized workers are paid.

Associated Press writers Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.

Long Island Rail Road workers walk on the picket line outside of Penn Station on the first day of their strike, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Long Island Rail Road trains sit at the West Side Yard on the first day of a Long Island Rail Road workers' strike, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

A passenger waits by a sign board showing no Long Island Rail Road trains operating at the Moynihan Train Hall section of Penn Station on the first day of a strike on Saturday, May 16, 2026 in New York. (AP Photo/Michael R. Sisak)

Long Island Rail Road workers, including locomotive engineer Karl Bischoff, center, picket outside Penn Station on the first day of a strike in New York, on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael R. Sisak)

A passenger looks at a closed off entrance to the Long Island Rail Road at Grand Central station, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in New York, on the first day of a strike after five unions representing about half the LIRR's workforce walked off the job. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)