I, for one, don't think that any living thing deserves a slow painful death but I would have no qualms about killing/culling wild rats. They carry and transmit parasites as well as serious, potentially lethal, diseases. I value the health of my family more than the life of a rat. I don't think that makes me a bad person.

As far as I'm aware, hedgehogs don't pose the same danger to humans.

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Actually, there are diseases that can be transmitted from many wild species besides rats, it's just people prefer to use them as a scapegoat, recent evidence suggests that even the black death was more easily transmitted from human to human rather than rat to human

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I have seen quite a big rat before that was about twice the size of my old domestic ones but I believe that is a rarity. As others have said I couldnt live with myself if I poisoned or even killed it. Id see what happens, it may well leave of its own accord, especially if one of your boys has brought it in for you. If it were me I would live trap it and again as others have said even knowing it is illegal, take it somewhere else and release it.

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RIP : Tabby, Bonnie & Herbert.

Proud furless mummy of Luna and Maggie - GO MOGGY MONSTERS!

I didn't say that there weren't diseases that could be transmitted by other wild animals; I know that there are, but I don't believe that other wild animals pose the same level of risk to humans simply because we're not as likely to come into contact with them.

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I bought this type, they worked a treat and the mouse (luckily not a rat) was safely released to live another day