Hi Everyone,
Apologies for the late story of the week'. The past 2 weeks have brought a tidal wave of stories each deserving an equal voice. But in turn left me with little sleep and time to write. So they and many others will be told. And I will post another just after this one.
I chose this story as it involves an animal that has been shunned throughout #human #history giving most people the creeps. The question is, do they deserve the reputation they have received?
This video and story is a test of sorts to gauge readers reaction, opinion, interest, likes and dislikes. And also to see if this story might actually change people’s views.
The Rat with the Bad Rap...
The video is self-explanatory but going deeper into this and the story, it's about something called #speciesism. Which means prejudice or discrimination for one species over another. The assumption of human superiority... Okay, so who doesn't love dogs? Over 500 million on the planet is the estimate! So, I ask the question... Is a rat any different to a #dog? They look a little different, much smaller, kind of a miniature dog that lost all the hair from its tail. Yes, rats have been found to carry up to a dozen different diseases. But remember, any animal can serve as a vector for diseases. Here's the rude awakening... Your dog Sparky goes out into the backyard, picks up a disease, brings it inside, you pat Sparky, forget to wash your hands, and then you touch your face... That disease then finds it's way through one of your mucous membranes i,e. mouth, eyes, nose, ears. The disease just entered your body... It's that easy. Wash your hands regularly with anti-bacterial and especially after touching any animal. Even human-animals!
Does the rat deserve his bad rap or is he innocent?
The rat got his ‘bad wrap’ as the master villain responsible for the spread of the #Bubonic #Plague from 1348 to 1350 through Europe that killed an estimated 100 million people, which was 30-60% of Europe’s population. Totally catastrophic. However studies have shown that the rat alone could not have been responsible for the rapid spread of the disease. Camel's even contracted it. They played a plart as the vector but it was ultimately fleas, lice and trade routes. (I've placed a link to an article on this below for more information.)
So! The usage of the term ‘Rat’ by us as an insult has solidified its place in our terminology… You dirty rat! Oh rats! That rat he ratted on me! And so on...
One of the oldest and most historic stories about rats is "The Pied Piper of Hamelin", in which a rat-catcher leads away a rat infestation with enchanted music. The piper is later refused payment, so he in turn leads away the town's children!
Rats are an amazing animal with countless stories told of their intelligence and selfless behavior. I am of cause anti any animal being experimented on but I did like hearing the results of this one. A controlled study found that rats are actively 'pro-social'. Which means voluntary behavior intended to benefit another. They demonstrated this behavior with other rats in experiments where they freed other rats from cages...when presented with readily available #chocolate chips, the test subjects would first free the caged #rat, and then share the #food with them. Isn’t that awesome??!! I love that. All female rats in the study displayed this behavior, while 30% of the males did not.. Hahaaa!!
I personally like rats just the same as many other animals. I have my favorite’s of course but to me every animal ‘being’, is a unique individual that deserves kindness and respect no matter what it is. They were all created for a purpose and they’re just trying to go about there day as we do. So try spare a thought for these little guys and girls if you come across one or need to get them removed from your home. There are plenty of great live catch traps you can do it with. Click here for options
Enjoy the video and please sign up here to tell me how you feel about this. 😊
Further information being exonerated from the Black Death - https://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bugbitten/2015/03/16/rats-exonerated-reservoir-hosts-black-death/