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Black rats in Britain 31 October 2004 ~ 00:06 In the Time Out guide to London for Children, they say something about London Zoo that I find rather strange. They wonder why on earth the zoo would have black rats. Clearly they have no idea what they are talking about. You see, they are the rarest mammal in the British Isles.Smaller and lighter than brown (Norweigan) rats, with longer tails and bigger eyes and ears, black rats (also known as ship or roof rats) came over to Britain during the Roman era, but were superceded by the bigger brown rat in the 1700s. They now only survive on one Scottish island. Until recently, there had been a population on Lundy Island, off the Devon coast (South England), but the island authorities had them systematically poisoned, na�vely thinking that they were a threat to sea birds.
A black rat The only black rats kept on mainland Britain are now the ones in London Zoo and those kept by pest control company Rentokil. Rentokil keep them to test poison on in the event that ship rats again become a problem in Britain (like that's ever going to happen!). The red squirrel is protected in Britain nowadays because it is rare, due to a successful takeover bid by its North American cousin, the grey squirrel. However, rare black rats are not afforded the same protective status, presumably because they don't have cute, fluffy tails! In my opinion, they are just as worthy of conservation�in fact, even more so, as there are fewer black rats than red squirrels. I've been lucky enough to meet and hold ship rats (and so has nightdragon). I know someone who used to breed them, and those who've kept them as pets (most of the rats kept as pets, such as the ones we keep, are a domesticated version of the brown rat). They really are a pretty and charming little animal. I'm going to London Zoo tomorrow, and I sincerely hope that they are still there. And I, for one, will be very interested to see them.
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