JSPCA PRESS RELEASE

April 2004

ILLEGALLY LANDED RAT HELD IN QUARANTINE

A French couple were jailed for five days and then deported for bringing their pet rat with them to Jersey.  The flat where the French pair were staying was raided and the couple were arrested, charged with contravening the rabies law.  The rat was taken to the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter and placed into the special quarantine unit on the premises.

The couple had not realized that they needed a licence to import the rat into Jersey.  Currently, under Jersey Law, every animal that is brought to Jersey from any country other than Britain must have a licence; the aim of this law is to minimize the threat of introducing rabies to the Island.

At the Magistrate’s Court, the couple pleaded guilty to breaking the rabies law and were bound over to leave the Island for 12 months.  They were kept in custody before being escorted back to the ferry port, with their grey and white rat, on route to France.