Rats in a trap...

[mudman]

It's vermin - if you trap it it's illegal to set it free.

Not sure it is. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 specifies a number of animals in Schedule 9 that mustn't be released from captivity such as grey squirrels, muntjac deer, African clawed toads but surprisingly doesn't include brown rats. I do wonder if there's anything anywhere else that prohibits it as they are vermin.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I understood it's anything classed as vermin.

 

[niemeyjt]

I think it is anything non-native - as said above like Grey Squirrel, Edible Dormouse etc etc.

 

[Agent_zed]

nearly killed one of my neighbours

is that a confession?

 

[Agent_zed]

Bubonic plague is still around with a couple of thousand cases every year.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...an-health-summary-january-to-june-2023#plague

Doesn't seem to suggest thousands of cases. More like less than 100 and none in the UK or even Europe. I'm not sure it is high on my list of things to be concerned about.

Conversely -
Whilst I can't find the UK stats for california in 2021 'the use of rodenticides resulted in more than 3,000 cases of human poisonings in 2021, including children in at least 2,300 of the cases, according to America’s Poison Control Centers.' https://www.independent.com/2023/06/18/rat-poison-ban-heads-to-california-senate/

 

[mudman]

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...an-health-summary-january-to-june-2023#plague

Doesn't seem to suggest thousands of cases. More like less than 100 and none in the UK or even Europe. I'm not sure it is high on my list of things to be concerned about.

Conversely -
Whilst I can't find the UK stats for california in 2021 'the use of rodenticides resulted in more than 3,000 cases of human poisonings in 2021, including children in at least 2,300 of the cases, according to America’s Poison Control Centers.' https://www.independent.com/2023/06/18/rat-poison-ban-heads-to-california-senate/

The American CDC seems to think so: https://www.cdc.gov/plague/faq/inde... 1,000 and 2,000,number is likely much higher.
Either way, I'm not going to worry too much. With modern antibiotics, plague isn't the killer it used to be,

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Rats, amongst other urban pests, are vermin. Unpleasant visitors. Breed rapidly, cause significant damage.

Rather than debating the legality of their release, I would be more concerned to understand if legislation prevented their quick dispatch.

 

[recipio]

A typical female rat can have up to six litters per year, producing up to 12 pups per litter. They reach sexual maturity at nine weeks so in theory one female rat can reproduce 1250 offspring per year. Of course there is a natural death rate but if you have rats around the house it's time for the terminator. If you haven't looked at PCP air rifles for a while be prepared to be gobsmacked at the huge growth in production and choice. Just sayin'

 

[Jacob]

A typical female rat can have up to six litters per year, producing up to 12 pups per litter. They reach sexual maturity at nine weeks so in theory one female rat can reproduce 1250 offspring per year. Of course there is a natural death rate but if you have rats around the house it's time for the terminator. If you haven't looked at PCP air rifles for a while be prepared to be gobsmacked at the huge growth in production and choice. Just sayin'

If you have rats in the house you need to attend to the house and keep them out. Air rifle won't help they'll just come back. They can only reproduce at speed if they have food and access to nesting places.

 

[John Brown]

A distant relative of mine died from Weil's disease many years ago.

Of course !

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I don't give a monkey's toss whether you believe it or not.

 

[John Brown]

I don't give a monkey's toss whether you believe it or not.

Where did I say I didn't believe you? I know you have friends and relatives to support all your beliefs and assertions.

 

[TRITON]

 

[Jacob]

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

 

[recipio]

If you have rats in the house you need to attend to the house and keep them out. Air rifle won't help they'll just come back. They can only reproduce at speed if they have food and access to nesting places.

Had one in my shed once. The bu##er would jump 8 feet to the rafters when I turned the light on. I couldn't figure out what he was feeding on until I found a chewed bag of bonemeal. He succumbed to a steel trap which I had to screw to a board to stop it flipping.
Rats in the yard are manageable, rats in the house are a disaster requiring total elimination. An air rifle with night vision will dispatch plenty of rats - outside of course.

 

[Lons]

Rats, amongst other urban pests, are vermin. Unpleasant visitors. Breed rapidly, cause significant damage.

Rather than debating the legality of their release, I would be more concerned to understand if legislation prevented their quick dispatch.

There is no legislation preventing quick dispatch, quite the opposite in fact, it must be carried out quickly and humanely (Animal Welfare Act 2006).

Reportedly there's been a sizeable increase in rat population since Covid with alegedly a 90% increase in London and other urban areas.

Apart from disease and other damage they, (and mice) have a liking for plastic pipes and the insulation around electrical wires with obvious consequences.

They can enter and travel though spaces as small as a 50p and easily climb up the inside of a cavity wall, they can also climb smooth plastic drainage pipes even into a WC bowl. I saw one example where in an unocupied 1st floor flat they had done exactly that, couldn't get out of the bowl as the seat lid was down so chewed through the plastic outlet adapter. In the space of a week they wreaked havoc.

BTW brown rats originated from central asia in the 1700s carried here on ships so naturalised, not strictly native. But then what is? Including humans.

...........So.......... I'll continue to shoot the little bu**ers through the head whenever the occasion arises, humanely and perfectly legal. I don't much care what others do with them as long as they release on their own property and they don't pass the problem on to someone else.

 

[Robbo3]

Then there is the tale that a farm worker liked to relate down the pub, of the rat that went for his throat whilst he was mucking out. The rat jumped from a feed rack over his shoulder to gain it's freedom but that doesn't make such a good story.

 

[Scruples]

I use a humane trap and catch then release the rats several miles away into the countryside away from residential or commercial premises. Live and let live, I say.

 

[Lons]

A mate has upwards of 30 hens and a few ducks and rats are a constant issue though he's careful with feed kept in vermine proof bins. Poison is difficult as the rats could drag it within reach of the hens and it's not the best way to kill them anyway as it's a dlow death. We both have very accurate air rifles which definitely keeps trhe numbers down and under control.

I remember a couple of years ago he had a particularly broody hen which wouldn't leave the nest, just growled when he tried to push her off, he went in one morning and found rats had killed and half eaten her and the eggs overnight.
Not as bad as the day he found an otter in the hen hut where it had killed 16 hens and 5 ducks though. His plot of land is next to a stream but I hadn't seen that before.

 

[accipiter]

Guiding principles in the Humane Control of Rats and Mice - UFAW https://www.ufaw.org.uk/downloads/w...e-on-humane-control-of-rodents-feb2509v19.pdf