RSPCA: 112 rats rescued from Lancashire woman's filthy 'rat room' - where they were breeding out of control

A woman has been handed a suspended prison sentence after the RSPCA found over 100 pet rats in one room of her house - with an ammonia smell so powerful rescuers struggled to breathe.

Dozens of rodents were found running loose at 31-year-old Sarah Jordan’s Lancashire property last year, alongside more than 70 others in cages. Makeshift nests made from newspaper and cardboard were found in a set of drawers, while one thirsty young rat was seen drinking from a leaky radiator. Multiple female rats were pregnant, and gave birth to 80 babies in RSPCA care. 

Their owner had let the rats breed in an uncontrolled way, the animal welfare charity said. After pleading guilty to four Animal Welfare Act offences at an earlier hearing, Jordan has now been sentenced at the Preston Magistrates Court. She was been banned from keeping all animals, apart from cats, for 15 years, and was given a four week prison sentence - suspended for 18 months - on each count.

At the sentencing hearing, the court heard how animal rescue officer Jess Pierce had gone with a vet to Jordan’s Leyland property in April 2023, following reports that a large number of rodents were being kept there in poor conditions. On arrival she could already smell could ammonia through the letterbox, and called police to gain entry.

“Myself and the vet entered the house. The rats were being kept in one room which was the first door on the right as you went in,” her official court statement said. “As soon as we entered the smell of ammonia was overwhelming, it was stinging my eyes and it was very difficult to breathe. There were two large rat cages and three smaller cages. All the cages were filled with rats, they were also loose in the room.”

While the cages had beds and toys, there was no fresh food or water anywhere, Officer Pierce continued, and the room was very warm. Several rats were sneezing and displaying respiratory symptoms - likely due to the ammonia. Three had fur loss, commonly associated with stress, one was missing half of its tail, and another had a large, untreated wound on its neck.

“I had to leave the room every now and then as the ammonia had given me a headache... I contacted our control centre and requested assistance from colleagues due to the number of rats at the property,” she said. The court was told that 38 rats were found running loose in the room. A further 74 rodents were living in four cages with soiled bedding, no food and empty water bottles. 

The vet who was present said the animals were suffering and they were taken into police possession. It took a team of RSPCA officers over two hours to catch and transport them all.  

In their written evidence, the vet who examined the animals at the RSPCA’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital said their owner had failed to provide an appropriate, safe, hazard-free and clean environment. “Given the evidence presented to myself I believe the rats were likely without food and water for a period of days. The environment - soiled, ammonia smelling bedding - is likely to have developed over weeks.”

There was severe overcrowding in three of the four cages, they continued, a situation they had probably been in for months. “I would expect a responsible owner to contact a veterinarian for advice if they noticed hair loss or scabbing present on their rats. Another symptom I would expect an owner to seek veterinary advice for is respiratory disease. Regardless of the cause of the owner’ failings, steps to improve the rats welfare should have been taken much sooner.”

Jordan was interviewed by the RSPCA about what happened. She said she had bought four male and three female rats and had been breeding them to sell - ensuring they only went to “the best homes”. She said she was aware that some of the rats were pregnant, but didn’t see it as a problem because she had owners lined up.

The RSPCA said three of the rats were put to sleep due to their poor condition. The rest were looked after at RSPCA centres and branches up and down the country, and many had already found new homes.

The animal welfare charity has previously said it had been struggling with an influx of small mammals, including pet rats and mice, guinea pigs, and rabbits, for some time - and often struggled to rehome them. For all species, the problem was all-too-often people buying opposite sex pairs, sometimes unknowingly, and not realising just how quickly they can breed.