Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Ratting As It was


Child rat catchers with dog, 1916, probably Britain. This was life close to the bone. 

The dog is of the northern type, whose root stock gave us the Welsh Terrier, Irish Terrier, Border Terrier. Patterdale Terrier, and Fell Terrier

4 comments:

PBurns said...

Ratters for hire would walk around with ferrets in one cage and a live rat in another. The live rat in a cage was often hanging from a pole as a kind of advertising. See Jack Black picture at >> http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Rat-catcher

Jane Howarth said...

Catching them alive was also something to do with being paid for them. Having a live one was more proof that you caught it and rat catchers would sell some of the live ones to breeders of rats. Some went into the pet market and less fortunate rats (as they still are now) for experimentation.

PBurns said...

Yes, but in rather limited circumstances long before this picture was taken. See “Jack Black and the Wistar Rat at >> https://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2013/06/jack-black-and-wistar-rat.html

Jane Howarth said...

I did say "some rats." Rat fancy was still going pretty strong up until around 1930. So still a market for live rats in 1922. Most rats would be killed but anything that looked like it might get a few bob from a local rat fancier would be spared and live rats in a crate smelt a little bit less if it was a few days to picking up payment for them than dead ones. My Grandfather was a rat catcher.