Does the fancy rat have a long history?
History books date the origin of the fancy rat as far back as the 19th Century where rat catchers were paid by towns and villages to catch them. The ratcatchers were pretty clever and soon realised if they bred the rats they could make money easily instead of having to catch them! During this period the catchers discovered how intelligent they were and how easy it was to train a rat to perform tricks. Between 1840 – 1860 breeding rats to sell became more and more popular and with this the rat became more and more domesticated. The main reason for their popularity is the rat is easily bred, social, intelligent and very clean. The first rat show was held around 1900 in England. Rat keeping continued to grow throughout the 1900’s and in 1970 became even more popular with the publication of ‘Peter Rabbit’ by Beatrix Potter. Beatrix Potters popularity grew with the huge success and her love for ‘pet rats’ was broadcast through the children interested in her works. 1976, was the year in whic
