Are Roof Rats Legal in Belgium? Keeping, Breeding & Selling

• Flemish Department of Animal Welfare (Vlaanderen), written reply June 2026: since the 2014 state reform there is no longer a single Belgian positive list; Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels each maintain their own. On the Flemish list, only breeding forms of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) are allowed; the roof rat (Rattus rattus) is not, so keeping it as a pet, and therefore breeding it, is not permitted without authorization. Selling or giving an animal away (including for free) requires recognition as an animal business, and a recognized trader may hold a non-listed animal only temporarily, to transfer it to a buyer who may legally own it. Commercial transport of rats over 65 km requires a transporter permit, and import is handled by the federal food-safety agency (FAVV / AFSCA). A keeper may apply for an individual authorization to hold a non-listed species, or petition to add the species to the positive list with a scientific dossier that an expert committee assesses and decides within six months.

Keeping / owning   Restricted

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-11

Each region permits only mammals explicitly enumerated on its positive list (federal origin: Royal Decree 16 July 2009; Wallonia AGW 24 July 2018; Brussels AGRBC 25 June 2020; Flanders BVR 27 Jan 2023 + Vlaamse Codex Dierenwelzijn 2024). The listed rat uses the scientific name Rattus norvegicus; R. rattus, a distinct species, not a domesticated lineage of R. norvegicus, is not named on any list found. Keeping an unlisted mammal needs prior ministerial/governmental authorization; without it, keeping is unlawful. Medium confidence: the official annex PDFs couldn’t all be read in full, so a generic ‘Rattus sp.’ entry can’t be 100% excluded, verify.

Sources: Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge / Belgisch Staatsblad), WALLEX (Wallonia), Codex Vlaanderen, EU / EUR-Lex

Breeding   Restricted

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-11

Breeding is downstream of keeping: if keeping unlisted R. rattus needs authorization, breeding does too. Additionally, anyone operating a pet-breeding establishment needs regional recognition (agrément/erkenning), Flanders requires prior recognition under the Vlaamse Codex Dierenwelzijn; Wallonia’s establishment-agrément decree (AGW 24 Nov 2022) was annulled by the Council of State in Dec 2024, leaving that framework uncertain.

Sources: Codex Vlaanderen, WALLEX (Wallonia)

Selling or giving away   Restricted

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-11

Selling/giving an unlisted species compounds the keeping restriction (both parties must be able to lawfully hold it). Commercial or regular breeding/selling also needs regional recognition as a breeder/dealer (origin: Royal Decree 27 April 2007, now regional). Gratuitous gifting to another private person is more relaxed but still requires the animal to be lawfully held (i.e., positive-list compliant) by both. No price triggers separate rules, the species-authorization problem applies to giving too.

Sources: Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge / Belgisch Staatsblad), Codex Vlaanderen

Transport & import   Restricted

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-11

Belgium’s regional positive lists act as an absolute import barrier: because R. rattus may not be kept in any region (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels) without prior individual ministerial authorisation (erkenning/agrément), bringing one in without that authorisation is unlawful regardless of EU veterinary compliance, and FASFC/regional inspectors may seize (and potentially euthanise) an unlisted animal. EU pet-passport rules (Reg. 576/2013) don’t apply to rodents, and R. rattus is NOT on the EU Union list (Reg. 1143/2014). Movement of a lawfully-authorised animal within a region is unrestricted.

Sources: Federal Public Service Public Health, EU / EUR-Lex

• Ask your regional animal-welfare authority whether R. rattus is on the positive list
• If not, use the regional species-addition procedure to petition for inclusion

Forms: Wallonia, demander à ajouter une espèce sur la liste positive (mammifères), Flanders, erkenningsaanvraag positieve lijst · Where: Regional animal-welfare authority (Dierenwelzijn Vlaanderen / SPW Bien-être animal / Bruxelles Environnement)

Source: Codex Vlaanderen, WALLEX (Wallonia)

Where: Regional animal-welfare authority

Source: Dierenwelzijn Vlaanderen

Belgium uses a “positive list” system: only species on the official list may be kept as pets. The mammal list includes the fancy rat (Rattus norvegicus) but not the roof rat (Rattus rattus). This is because the fancy rat was the only pet rat in the trade when the list was drawn up, not because the roof rat was assessed and rejected. The already-listed fancy rat is itself the wild brown rat, domesticated only in the 19th century, so a captive-bred roof rat is the same case one species over (see https://blonderoofrat.com/how-the-sewer-rat-became-the-fancy-rat/).

The ask: Petition the competent authority to assess and add the domesticated Rattus rattus to the positive list. The list has a formal procedure to evaluate and add a species, so the request is concrete and specific.

Where the lever really is: The positive list is a regulatory instrument maintained by the executive, with a formal “add a species” procedure. The lever is a positive-list application or petition to the competent authority (the FPS Public Health at federal level and/or your regional animal-welfare authority), not a change in the law by Parliament.

Where to send it (more than one channel helps):

• Your regional animal-welfare authority (Flanders: Dienst Dierenwelzijn; Wallonia: Bien-être animal; Brussels: Dierenwelzijn / Bien-être animal) (executive / agency), dierenwelzijn@vlaanderen.be
  Animal welfare and the positive list are a REGIONAL competence in Belgium; the Flemish service email is shown, Wallonia and Brussels residents should write their own region’s animal-welfare service, which runs the same add-a-species procedure.

A starting-point message, please put it in your own words; a short personal note carries far more weight than an identical form letter:

To the competent authority for the positive list of mammals,

I am writing to ask that the domesticated roof rat (Rattus rattus) be assessed for, and added to, the positive list of mammals that may be kept.

The list currently includes the fancy rat (Rattus norvegicus) but not the roof rat, not because the roof rat was assessed and rejected, but because it was not in the pet trade when the list was drawn up. The fancy rat is itself the wild brown rat, domesticated only in the 19th century, so a captive-bred roof rat is the same case one species over. Domesticated roof rats are bred over generations for tameness, kept indoors, and pose no greater risk than the fancy rat already on the list.

I ask that the species be evaluated under the list's add-a-species procedure.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Aan de bevoegde overheid voor de positieflijst zoogdieren,

Ik vraag dat de gedomesticeerde dakrat (Rattus rattus) wordt beoordeeld en toegevoegd aan de positieflijst van zoogdieren die als huisdier mogen worden gehouden.

De lijst bevat nu wel de tamme rat (Rattus norvegicus) maar niet de dakrat, niet omdat de dakrat werd beoordeeld en afgewezen, maar omdat hij nog niet in de dierenhandel zat toen de lijst werd opgesteld. De tamme rat is zelf de wilde bruine rat, pas in de 19e eeuw gedomesticeerd, zodat een in gevangenschap gefokte dakrat hetzelfde geval is, slechts één soort verder. Gedomesticeerde dakratten worden over generaties op tamheid gefokt, binnenshuis gehouden en vormen geen groter risico dan de tamme rat die al op de lijst staat.

Ik vraag om de soort te evalueren via de procedure om een soort toe te voegen.

Met vriendelijke groet,
[Uw naam]

À l'autorité compétente pour la liste positive des mammifères,

Je demande que le rat noir domestiqué (Rattus rattus) soit évalué et ajouté à la liste positive des mammifères pouvant être détenus.

La liste comprend actuellement le rat brun (Rattus norvegicus) mais pas le rat noir, non pas parce que le rat noir a été évalué et refusé, mais parce qu'il n'était pas présent dans le commerce des animaux de compagnie lorsque la liste a été établie. Le rat brun est lui-même le rat sauvage, domestiqué seulement au XIXe siècle, de sorte qu'un rat noir né en captivité est le même cas, à une espèce près. Les rats noirs domestiqués sont sélectionnés depuis des générations pour leur docilité, gardés à l'intérieur, et ne présentent pas plus de risque que le rat brun déjà inscrit.

Je demande que l'espèce soit évaluée via la procédure d'ajout d'une espèce.

Cordialement,
[Votre nom]

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