Rat madness

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

The Russians were so carried away by the fashion of celebrating the New Year according to the Chinese calendar that they surpassed the Chinese themselves in this. Despite the fact that the Year of the Rat according to the Eastern calendar will come on February 7, shortly before December 31, not a single rat was left in the capital's pet shops, and the young people of Rostov-on-Don organized a New Year's holiday "Rat King" for 12 rats of different breeds living in the city zoo …

Pet shops in Moscow have sold out all the rats that are considered the symbol of 2008, Interfax reported. As representatives of one of the Moscow pet stores told the agency, rats of sand and blue colors were in special demand among buyers. In addition to the rats themselves, they bought a large number of accessories - cages, houses, toys, hammocks, and even clothes and delicacies.

According to the sellers, many buyers said they were purchasing rodents as a New Year's gift.

The population of rats on the planet is constantly increasing. Five years ago, it equaled the number of people, and today it is almost twice as large.

Moscow veterinary clinics express concern that some of the rodents bought as a symbol of the coming 2008 may end up on the street after the end of the holidays. "Not everyone will be happy with such a gift," said an employee of one of the clinics, "and the animal will either be returned to the store or thrown out into the street." At the same time, he expressed the hope that most of the new owners of rats will appreciate the intelligence, unpretentiousness and dedication of this animal.

And on the eve of the holiday, the chief sanitary doctor of Russia Gennady Onishchenko urged Russians not to be afraid of rodents, but to learn to live in peace with them. According to him, the rat is one of the smartest animals on our planet, and it must be treated with respect.