Editing Fancy rat (section)

== History ==
[[File:Rat-baiting6.jpg|thumb|left|The blood sport of [[rat-baiting]] was an antecedent for the practice of keeping rats as pets.]]
[[File:Jack Black.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jack Black (rat catcher)|Jack Black]] made his living not only from catching rats, but also from selling them for use in baiting.]]
The origin of the modern fancy rat begins with the [[rat-catcher]]s of the 18th and 19th centuries who trapped rats throughout Europe.<ref name="langton-history" /> These rat-catchers would then either kill the rats, or, more likely, sell the rats to be used in blood sport.<ref name="krinke">{{cite book | last = Krinke | first = George J. | others = Gillian R. Bullock (series ed.), Tracie Bunton (series ed.) | title = The Laboratory Rat (Handbook of Experimental Animals) | url = https://archive.org/details/laboratoryrathan00krin | url-access = limited | publisher = Academic Press | date = 15 June 2000 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/laboratoryrathan00krin/page/n261 3]–16 | chapter = History, Strains and Models | isbn = 978-0-12-426400-7}}</ref> [[Rat-baiting]] was a popular sport until the beginning of the 20th century. It involved filling a pit with several rats and then placing bets on how long it would take a [[terrier]] to kill them all. It is believed that both rat-catchers and sportsmen began to keep certain, odd-colored rats during the height of the sport, eventually breeding them and then selling them as pets.<ref name="langton-history" /><ref name="rmca-history">{{cite journal | url = http://www.rmca.org/Articles/domestication.htm | title = The Domestication of the Rat | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 33 | issue = 5 | pages = 109–117 | last = Hilscher-Conklin | first = Caryl | access-date = 10 November 2008| bibcode = 1947PNAS...33..109C | year = 1947 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.33.5.109 | pmid = 16578253 | pmc = 1079003 | doi-access = free }}</ref> The two men thought to have formed the basis of rat fancy are [[Jack Black (rat catcher)|Jack Black]], self-proclaimed rat-catcher to [[Queen Victoria]], and [[Jemmy Shaw|Jimmy Shaw]], manager of one of the largest sporting public houses in London. These two men are responsible for beginning many of the color varieties present today.<ref name="langton-history" /><ref name="afrma-history">{{cite web | url = http://afrma.org/rminfo4a.htm | title = The History of Fancy Rats | publisher = American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association | access-date = 10 November 2008 | archive-date = 30 May 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130530074258/http://www.afrma.org/rminfo4a.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> Black, specifically, was known for taming the "prettier" rats of unusual color, decorating them with ribbons, and selling them as pets.[[File:Nieuhof-p-263-Googhelaars-Lach-van-Kley-plate-364.png|thumb|Rats performing in a [[Chinese circus|Chinese street circus troupe]], as seen by [[Johan Nieuhof]] in 1655-57<ref>{{citation|first1= Donald F. |last1= Lach |first2= Edwin J. |last2= Van Kley|title= Asia in the Making of Europe |place= Chicago |publisher= University of Chicago Press |year= 1994 |isbn= 978-0-226-46734-4}}. Volume III, "A Century of Advance", Book Four, "East Asia". Plate 364. In the caption, Lach and van Kleyn identify the performing animals as mice and rats.</ref>]]

Rat fancy as a formal, organized hobby began when a woman named Mary Douglas asked for permission to bring her pet rats to an exhibition of the National Mouse Club at the [[Aylesbury]] Town Show in England on October 24, 1901. Her black-and-white hooded rat won "Best in Show" and ignited interest in the area. After Douglas' death in 1921, rat fancy soon began to fall back out of fashion. The original hobby formally lasted from 1912 to 1929 or 1931, as part of the National Mouse and Rat Club, at which point ''Rat'' was dropped from the name, returning it to the original [[National Mouse Club]]. The hobby was revived in 1976 with the formation of the English [[National Fancy Rat Society]] (NFRS).<ref name="langton-history" /><ref name="afrma-history" /> Pet rats are now commonly available in stores and from breeders (although there is a debate among rat enthusiasts as to the ethical treatment and quality of life provided by larger pet stores)<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-10-05 |title=They're intelligent and friendly. Why some people think rats are the perfect pet, for fun and comfort. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/theyre-intelligent-and-friendly-why-some-people-think-rats-are-the-perfect-pet-for-fun-and-comfort/2019/10/04/5a843b8e-8d2f-11e9-b08e-cfd89bd36d4e_story.html |access-date=2024-03-10 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> and there exist several rat fancier groups worldwide.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}