Rats can also be helpful in unexpected ways. Have not mentioned this to our catz

[SorellaLaBefana]

Of course, they need do more than a little *encouragement* to be helpers

The black market for illegal wildlife products is a serious global problem. While authorities and scientists have been trialing all kinds of methods to stop trafficking in its tracks, many are inefficient, costly, or a long way off deployment.

Scent-detection animals, however, could be one of the most promising solutions and an international team of researchers has turned to the African giant pouched rat (Cricetomys ansorgei) in particular.

These rats have an impressive sense of smell, able to detect many different scents and tell the difference between them – not to mention they can get into tight spaces. They’ve previously been trained to sniff out explosives, and even tuberculosis-causing bacteria. Could they do the same with illegally trafficked wildlife...

https://www.iflscience.com/giant-rats-in-tiny-vests-trained-to-sniff-out-illegally-trafficked-wildlife-76598

There is HOPE with science—and little without.

[RandySF]

1. Rats get a bad rap.

[samnsara]

2. ive had pet rats and they are adorable! and cuddly...

...in college i absconded with a black hooded lab rat I named Buffy. She had the run of my apartment and would do her business in one place so easy to clean. She would run up my leg and sit on my shoulder as i did the dishes.... My daughter was 6 and Buffy slept on her pillow next to her.

she lived for about 18 months and i took her to the WSU Vet department when she became ill. They felt she had cancer and euthed her...I took a few days off afterwards and drove home to mourn.