Ethical Rat Breeders (original) (raw)

I would tend to call myself an ethical person, especially as it applies to my animals and I just have an issue. In *every* code of ethics for rat-breeder clubs is the stipulation that rats not be bred for feeders. I would never sell a rat as a feeder, I'm not even tempted, but I do have a snake and that snake does eat rats, which I breed.

What I have a hard time with is that my babies are planned, they live in excellent cages, receive care and food to keep them healthy and happy, and they generally enjoy life until I send them to new homes. Now, the rat that I buy frozen at the pet store to feed to my snakey was likely bred in a rat-mill, lived in bad, crowded conditions, was feed poor quality food and received no care, handling, or quality of life. Of course it could have been better, but I have no way of knowing so I must assume the worst. What I can say with surety is that those rats did not live life as good as my rats do. It breaks my heart to bring home the frozen rat because I can only imagine the horror of it's poor little life before death in an unknown manner.

It would be much better in my opinion to raise my snake's food rats the same way I raise pet rats, do what keeps them happy, and kill them painlessly when the time comes. I have few qualms about killing my snakes food because someone has to do it and I may as well take responsibility for it, face up to it, and deal.

I just hate that I am not allowed to make that (more humane) decision. Or if I do I am banned from clubs and likely the breeder community I love so much, those things are worth a lot to me, but as much as the suffering of the rats my snake must eat? I don't know.