29/06/2025
What *is* ethical?
Sounds like a loaded question - doesn't it? Problem is, there is no one definition for it! Its something we hear a lot in rat groups and online forums, but there is no one straight answer.
The definition of ethical is: "relating to moral principles or the branch of knowledge dealing with these"
Everyone's morals differ, and part of being viewed as ethical is when a persons moral beliefs align with your own. What some may deem acceptable, others will not. Whilst there are things that the vast majority will deem unacceptable (such as animal ab*se, dumping pets etc) there are a lot of grey areas. Whilst not everyone does things the same way, it does not make people inherently bad people, we just have different moral outlooks that do not align with our own.
Part of finding out is asking any potential breeder the difficult questions to make sure their morals and ethical beliefs align with yours - we want the best homes for our babies as much as you want them to be yours! So - with that said, I thought I'd do a quick (haha, quick...) post to detail my own personal moral beliefs when it comes to my rats, so that YOU as potential future pet homes, and current homes have full transparency from myself.
1) I DO NOT hard cull - yes, there are times and places for humane euthanasia, but I refuse to cull for 'over population', bitey babies, etc etc - I DO euthanise for medical issues that cannot be treated by other means.
2) I DO NOT home pets to people under the age of 18 WITHOUT speaking to a parent VIA voice call and going over things with them. Ultimately any rat in the care of a child is the responsibility of the adult, not the minor.
3) I keep my rats in a temperature controlled environment - no, you cannot walk into my rat room as I don't want to introduce any possible infections - I'm more than happy to send photos and videos of my setups, and to bring the parents out to meet you if you wish, but this is my home, not a pet shop - they aren't there for you to poke at, they are my babies and pets first and foremost.
4) All my cages are double cages (mostly pet planets and critter nations) with bases a minimum of 8". I keep babies once away from their mothers in coco large cages. If anyone has any good storage solutions for the absolutely insane amount of enrichment items I need as a result, please let me know
5) I retire my does at around 12 months of age. If they haven't had a litter by then, they never will. My bucks are retired at 18 months of age. No rat is bred from under the age of 6 months. Most will only ever have one litter. They are my babies and pets first and foremost, and I'm not going to turn them into baby machines just so people aren't waiting as long. If you can't wait - TOUGH.
6) I don't home out my retired does or bucks. As above, they are my pets - I have the room to keep them here until they pass over the rainbow bridge. Same with rats I choose not to breed from. THEY ARE MY PETS. So please don't ask - my answer will always be NO. I will fill my entire house with cages before I'd ever let that happen.
7) I DO NOT home babies out to pet homes under 8 weeks of age. With larger litters I will not home them out until they are a good size and weight and able to go to new homes - this could be from 10+ weeks - again, if you don't want to wait those extra few weeks, TOUGH
8) I DO expect all potential pet homes to fill out an application form. This is non-negotiable. This also includes photos of your setups and food mix, with the current date in the image. Also, non-negotiable.
If there is anything else you want to know, you are more than welcome to ask - I have nothing to hide and will answer you honestly, as I believe its important that we all start off on the right foot for the rats sake - if I am upfront and truthful with you, I hope that as existing and potential pet homes, you are honest with me when in return I have to ask questions of you.
After all, don't we all want whats best for them?
