August
Sunday 31 July 2011 photo 17/18
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Helvete vad trist!
"Why the future breeding of GPRs in the UK needs to stop.
After hearing about the recent experiences with a current litter of GPRs, it has made me seriously think about what is happening to these beautiful creatures.
Out of a litter of four babies, two of them, one boy and one girl have developed severe epilepsy.
The little boy has just had to be PTS this morning as the fits became so
severe. It was heartbreaking to see the videos of him fitting, which were filmed to show just how distressing this is both for the animal and the owners. He was just 6 weeks old. His sister’s fits are also becoming more frequent and severe, and she will most likely have to
follow her brother to the bridge.
As with other breeders, he was assured that the parents were well and healthy, or he would not have let the rats mate, but only last week, the father died in the waiting room at the vets while waiting to be seen. I don’t think he was even 12 months old.
The survey, which I conducted, shows that GPRs in the UK and Europe are living on average about 2-4 years. There have been a few exceptions, with one female in Germany reaching
the age of eight. But she may have been one of the original one imported or a first generation baby. Also, others have not even reached one year of age.
After trying to research the family trees of the rats, it seems that all of them come from the same line, which was originally imported, and even the ones in Europe are most probably from the same line.
Inbreeding has now reached about the 4th 5th generations, and severe health problems are beginning to show up. I have bred a litter myself, so am guilty like everyone else, but I think that now for the sake of the animals, we have to stop any future breeding. As it is
illegal to import from Africa, I think that the kindest thing we can do is just to let the ones we have already, live out their lives, and if they do start to develop any severe symptoms or fitting, to help them on their way to the bridge.
It is very sad, but in my eyes, the welfare of the animals must come first, and we should not carry on breeding. I hope that people understand where all this is coming from, but it needed to be brought to everyone’s attention, and hopefully most will agree
with me that it is for the best.
Our Emins breeding program will also have to be closely monitored, as it may be also unfair to breed from these if they are all related. It is a very sad day for me, but we have put the health and well-being of the animals first and foremost.
Marie Stott
11th July 2011"
http://www.facebook.com/groups/pouched.rats/doc/?id=241045962587103
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