I cannot believe what I have just read in the latest Fourways Review about Ark Animal Centre rearing a pack of orphaned rats.
They might look like ‘tiny puppies’, as described by Ark, but what they are so blatantly ignoring is the fact that they are carriers of all sorts of diseases. I strongly recommend that they ask any of the residents of townships such as Soweto or Diepsloot what they have to contend with while living with a rat population all around them. I also recommend they speak to a doctor.
In the meantime, they should research the number of diseases these vermin carry and the risks to anyone who is a victim of their bites. The babies might be called kittens, but there is nothing ‘kitten-ish’ about a rat. One such disease was bubonic plague – a contagious, often fatal epidemic disease caused by the bacterium pasteurella pestis, transmitted by fleas from infected rats and characterised by chills, fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and buboes (inflamed swelling of a lymphatic gland in the armpit or groin).
As far as I know, our children are not vaccinated to avoid diseases from rat bites, but if people are allowed to promote the ownership of pet rats, then we can expect a rise in the number of people being admitted to hospitals for treatment. As we all know, diarrhoea if not treated speedily, particularly in the young and old, can lead to death.
