Play some Justin Beiber to them? (although probably more humane to keep at them with the air rifle.)

Play some Justin Beiber to them? (although probably more humane to keep at them with the air rifle.)

I just nearly spat my coffee everywhere

Definitely comes under the heading of "cruel and unusual punishment" and is probably banned under the Rodents' Rights Act.

Defintely no certificate needed for air rifles under 12fps , anything over requires a firearm certificate, so you can shoot Rats with a lower velocity air rifle, I did double check in case I hads missed any new controls but it is still ok for air rifles.

Going back to cats my current ones will and do catch rats but most of my previous ones were too lazy to catch anything, I have no idea why these 2 are different prehaps its because they are totally country cats, but the do come in when it gets dark and wont go out if its wet so they are not that hard !! Actually they spend more time sleeping than doing anything else

theyre only round now as mums cat died a few years ago

the house is next to a railway line and near a resivour so it was bound to happen

scores up to 3, doubt it will go any higher as the rifles given in the ghost the springs gone, just ordered a scope as well

probably order a new one just a cheap one again maybe a B3

just ordered a pistol crossbow, rat kebabs anyone?

This is getting silly now, starting to feel sorry for the rats.

same in a way but im sure that something thats going to take one shot to kill is alot more humane than an old air rifle thats taking two or 3 shots

Peanut butter on the traps should do the job.

just ordered a pistol crossbow, rat kebabs anyone?

This is getting silly now, starting to feel sorry for the rats.

I agree Blondie!

I'd feel slightly silly having to need any weapon against a tiny animal such as a rat - unless of course the rat has a sub machine gun, then you're allowed to be scared

Rats are vermin and carry diseases if kept in a cage as a pet of course there is a difference.

The same as mice....known to be prolific urinators,is it ok to have them running around in your kitchen ?

Yes there are humane traps designed to capture them ....I bought one for almost a fiver A plastic contraption with a maze and a see saw designed to trap the mouse unhurt.

I watched on CCTV camera as they jumped on top and ran around it for 3 nights !

Tired of them I then used a conventional trap with peanut butter....I heard it going off within 30 seconds of closing the kitchen door.

Rats are not vermin Martin, they are living breathing animals that are just as important to the eco cycle as every other living species on this planet - and the only "diseases" they carry, are those from the filth that us humans leave behind.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat

"Rats can serve as zoonotic vectors for certain pathogens and thus cause disease, such as Lassa fever, leptospirosis and Hantavirus infection. However the rat is almost never directly responsible for the pathogen. Though it is commonly believed that R. rattus is responsible for the outbreak of bubonic plague the European citizens are to blame. After throwing waste into the street the rats moved where it was easy to find food. The rat flea then spread the plague from there. It is estimated that as many, if not more rats died from the plague than people."

Ok I accept your take on this.

I am an animal lover and have strong views on the issues that frequently hit the news such as foxhunting.

If we are to be generalising and considering the vast majority of peoples thoughts on Rats,then I am sure you would readily accept that they are not particularly viewed as welcome.

For me,probably like many,it comes with education from early years that these are creatures that scare the living daylights out of anyone in their paths.

I have travelled extensively in Russia and Ukraine (I am actually in Ukraine now) quite often I have been offered rabbit for dinner and refused saying that I prefer to see them running in the fields than on the dinner table.

Here it is a luxury and many breed them just to sell for food.

I remember reading about Paul McCartney being asked about Linda and her Veggie stuff.

He said they were sitting in their Sussex pad one day watching the spring lambs...and Linda said-how can we be eating these ?

I think those who breed and keep rats would obviously have opposing thoughts on people who cant stand them.

But there is for me something about rats which differ from lambs foxes badgers and all the other animals which are killed for the food chain or else to control numbers citing pest considerations.

An interesting discussion for sure......but I respect your views.

Ok I accept your take on this.

I am an animal lover and have strong views on the issues that frequently hit the news such as foxhunting.

If we are to be generalising and considering the vast majority of peoples thoughts on Rats,then I am sure you would readily accept that they are not particularly viewed as welcome.

For me,probably like many,it comes with education from early years that these are creatures that scare the living daylights out of anyone in their paths.

I have travelled extensively in Russia and Ukraine (I am actually in Ukraine now) quite often I have been offered rabbit for dinner and refused saying that I prefer to see them running in the fields than on the dinner table.

Here it is a luxury and many breed them just to sell for food.

I remember reading about Paul McCartney being asked about Linda and her Veggie stuff.

He said they were sitting in their Sussex pad one day watching the spring lambs...and Linda said-how can we be eating these ?

 

I think those who breed and keep rats would obviously have the same thoughts on people who cant stand them.

But there is for me something about rats which differ from lambs foxes badgers and all the other animals which are killed for the food chain or else to control numbers citing pest considerations.

 

An interesting discussion for sure......but I respect your views.

And as always Martin I respect yours

I no longer keep rats, but contrary to popular belief they are highly intelligent, and make far better "pets" for children wanting to keep rodents than hamsters, or mice etc, as they don't bite (unless you have a strong smell of food on your hands, then they will try to nibble thinking it's food), they are very clean also, and if they're allowed to run free they always return back to their "home" to do their business.

By the way - did you come across any wild Hamsters in Russia? I used to also keep Russian Hamsters, boy they can give a bite down to the bone if they surprised

Oh, I forgot to say - I'm not vegetarian! But I am very choosy about where any meat I eat comes from, as I think any animal who's life it to be food should either live a free existence or be treated with respect if it's for the purpose of the food chain.....Which is why I abhor fox hunting! Killing animals for sport is selfish and cruel.

I went balistic when it was announced they were thinking of culling badgers because they "spread TB" - so do humans spread TB, perhaps they should start culling us!

You know Martin - I've always thought humans were the filthiest of all creatures, and I watched a programme today called "restoration man", it was about the history of water towers - and it told about the "big stink" in London, were humans just did their business everywhere, and parliament had to use a mix of lime and I think chloride to help stop the smell, they were even considering leaving London

The illustrations were pretty vomit worthy I can tell you!

I just think it's a shame when we label certain creatures vermin, and less worthy than others - we all each play our part. I live in a rural area, and there are many here who see Foxes as vermin! And in in Washington State the locals there see Wolves as the equivalent to how those here see Foxes!

Oh, I heard something the other day that they're thinking of reintroducing Wolves back into Scotland! So give it a few years, and allow them to breed and spread out - you won't see many rats or mice too willing to be cheeky then

Lol some food for thought.

Hamsters here tend to be the long haired ones-yes my OH had one here but lifespan is not long.

We took it to the nearby woods and buried it when it died last year.

Restoration Man gives me images of life in Russia where in villages the toilet is still a hole in the ground in a garden wooden hut....in fact it is a common sight even in Moscow suburbs.

On a visit in the Elbrus mountain region in 2005 my exes uncle took me up some snow covered mountains.

He was on a deer shoot and it was my job to hollo out if I spotted any.

I saw a few and chased them away before he had chance.

He later killed a mother and I let him know in no uncertain terms what I thought.

He agreed to take the baby to the village where it was allowed to graze with kids looking after it.

It was named Bambi.

I had many arguements around the dinner table with guys over a few vodkas especially over fox hunting.

They told they had seen reports on TV about abandoned dogs in the UK and could not reconcile this so called international reputation of Britain being a nation of animal lovers.

I had no answer to that.

On another trip up the mountain I saw Eagles picking up l;ambs and carrying them away.

There were also some very big and ferrocious wild boars...To say they are frightning when they are close is an understatement....the uncle shot one of these and it took 4 bullets.

We was eating for a week and to be honest I did not feel any guilt at all.

There no supermarkets or even regular electric and gas....they live almost 100% off the land !!

I do agree that Rats make far better pets than most other rodents as they are very intellegent and dont bite, i have no fear of any animal except things with 8 legs and scorpions. i personally wouldnt kill any animal unless it was in pain and there was no other alternative, but I dont have ant problem with cats killing rats, mice etc as its nature. I am also not a veggie although I was fore about a year a long time ago, but i only eat free range eggs/chicken etc and any meat has to have ben reared in a proper environment not force fed in a barn and slaughtered quickly and properly, even though it costs more, the flavour is better and at least the animal had a happy life.

I would actually love to see one of these giant Rats as its almost unbeliveable.

On a lighter note but still conected, when my daughter was younger we were visiting a farm and there were some enourmous pigs she turned round and said to my father "Grandad do pigs really grow that big" absolute classic as she was standing a couple of feet away from them.

Lol some food for thought.

Hamsters here tend to be the long haired ones-yes my OH had one here but lifespan is not long.

We took it to the nearby woods and buried it when it died last year.

 

Restoration Man gives me images of life in Russia where in villages the toilet is still a hole in the ground in a garden wooden hut....in fact it is a common sight even in Moscow suburbs.

 

 

On a visit in the Elbrus mountain region in 2005 my exes uncle took me up some snow covered mountains.

He was on a deer shoot and it was my job to hollo out if I spotted any.

I saw a few and chased them away before he had chance.

 

He later killed a mother and I let him know in no uncertain terms what I thought.

He agreed to take the baby to the village where it was allowed to graze with kids looking after it.

It was named Bambi.

I had many arguements around the dinner table with guys over a few vodkas especially over fox hunting.

They told they had seen reports on TV about abandoned dogs in the UK and could not reconcile this so called international reputation of Britain being a nation of animal lovers.

I had no answer to that.

 

On another trip up the mountain I saw Eagles picking up l;ambs and carrying them away.

There were also some very big and ferrocious wild boars...To say they are frightning when they are close is an understatement....the uncle shot one of these and it took 4 bullets.

We was eating for a week and to be honest I did not feel any guilt at all.

There no supermarkets or even regular electric and gas....they live almost 100% off the land !!

Martin this sounds like my kind of heavenly place to live!!!!!

I find all animals beautiful, even the none fluffy kind So it's perhaps a good job that my OH has never taken me to his Sisters in Florida, else I may have forgotten myself and approached an Aligator - I tend not to have a sense of fear with most animals, and almost came a cropper with an Aligator many years ago

Although the wild boar sounds like a force to be reckoned with!!

I can remember my first experience of feeling upset over sport hunting, there was a boy in high school who used to brag about going shooting at the weekend with his "Daddy and Uncle" - let's just say we weren't the best of friends!

The trouble with quite a lot of people is, they have no clue about not only the journey of where meat comes from - but a high percentage don't even know which animal meat comes from! I knew a woman who didn't even know that Lamb came from the animal a Lamb! (Seriously) Also a lot of people think that Lamb is little baby spring Lambs - it's not, Lamb is usually from 2-3yr olds!

If everyone had to go back to basics and live just as your relatives do - they'd have a respect for the animals that fed them.

By the way, what does wild boar taste like? I'd love to try it! A friend of ours eats Elk, he said it's delicious!

Wild boar is just like pork but a lot richer.

I loved the way of life in the villages of South Russia and people there could not understand why I was going back so much when it was a 3 day journey from home involving flights buses and trains when a flight to the more traditional UK holiday destinations could be done in a couple of hours.

I was not far from the Stavropol region where the UK Gov advise against going near saying basically if you go there then dont call us if you have any problems..........

I was interested in the culture and the simplicity of life which can be humbling.

I had lots of discussions over the cold war and how Russia was taught to be our enemy how the arms race was viewed etc.

Suprisingly they told that for them it was the West and the US they were taught the same and even had drills to go under the table

Even today they are of the impression that it is Europe led by the US who are the war mongers.

I couldn't agree with all of the above more - and I've never even been to Russia!

I do know a few Russian people, and they are some of the nicest people I have met, they are very resourceful, clever and could manage any situation with their eyes closed! One of the people I knew loved to mountain climb - we invited him over here to do some, but he said the "altitude" was not enough

It's much the same with peoples perspectives of Germans - one time when I needed help abroad, the only person who helped me was German.

I would love to live in a place like you describe, imagine how free you'd feel?

are some pics taken only yesterday here.

These are Nuke Shelters outside apartment blocks which can be found everywhere in populated areas.

Today they are still used for storing potatoes and vegetables in summer for use in winter.

Also showing visit to a war memorial where 50k attended on Victory day on 9th May.

I put a flower there but was too packed for photos so returned after.

Russia lost 28 million men in WW2 far more than anyone else.

Sorry for hijacking thread.....from Rats to Russia....lol.

I hope some have found a little interesting.

its been intresting reading

i will admit ive never shot anything living before and after the rats will go back to plain targets

ive cancelled the order for the pistol crossbow as the store in question apparently has a lead time of two weeks

ive missed shooting with the old air rifle, used to use a 50ft range and golf balls on tees as targets - with no scope

im actually kind of depressed its broke as its something ive owned since i was 17, although im very much out of practice and dont have the old range to use anymore i was enjoying getting back into practice, cant justify spending alot on a rifle but im looking at getting a chinese made B3 which is a lever action, its very much an upgrade still from my old chinese B2, which was break barrel issue i found is with using the barrel to cock the rifle i can actually now see a noticable bend in the rifle

ive ordered a cheap scope until i get back into practice but im on the look out for a local gun club who will let me use their range

in the mean time ive got a double length garage and i think once its cleared out it will make a good range, ive got a couple of people from work intrested, some own their own air rifles, ones asked me if its big enough to use for archery

hopefull ill get back into the point where i was a few years ago when i got some NRA certification while in america

Martin this sounds like my kind of heavenly place to live!!!!!

 

I find all animals beautiful, even the none fluffy kind So it's perhaps a good job that my OH has never taken me to his Sisters in Florida, else I may have forgotten myself and approached an Aligator - I tend not to have a sense of fear with most animals, and almost came a cropper with an Aligator many years ago

 

Although the wild boar sounds like a force to be reckoned with!!

 

I can remember my first experience of feeling upset over sport hunting, there was a boy in high school who used to brag about going shooting at the weekend with his "Daddy and Uncle" - let's just say we weren't the best of friends!

 

The trouble with quite a lot of people is, they have no clue about not only the journey of where meat comes from - but a high percentage don't even know which animal meat comes from! I knew a woman who didn't even know that Lamb came from the animal a Lamb! (Seriously) Also a lot of people think that Lamb is little baby spring Lambs - it's not, Lamb is usually from 2-3yr olds!

 

If everyone had to go back to basics and live just as your relatives do - they'd have a respect for the animals that fed them.

 

By the way, what does wild boar taste like? I'd love to try it! A friend of ours eats Elk, he said it's delicious!

Sorry, it's not. Lamb is up to a year, one to two years is hogget and over 2 years is mutton. You can't get away from it, if you eat lamb you are eating baby sheep. And yes, I do!

My local market sells 8 legs of venison for £30. Do yo uthink that's too dear?

8 legs? That's one odd deer