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

Keeping / owning   Unregulated / unclear

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-11

No Chilean statute prohibits a private individual from keeping captive-bred R. rattus. The Ley de Caza (19.473) governs ‘fauna silvestre’ via RNTFS registration aimed at exotic WILDLIFE (parrots, caimans), a ubiquitous commensal like R. rattus doesn’t neatly fall into that permit pipeline. The MMA EEI catalogue documents R. rattus as naturalized/invasive but prescribes no keeping ban. The strongest signal: R. norvegicus, in the same pest registers, is openly sold. No SAG resolution banning tenencia of captive R. rattus exists.

Sources: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional (BCN), SAG, Ministerio del Medio Ambiente

Breeding   Unregulated / unclear

Confidence: Low · Last verified 2026-06-11

Breeding exotic fauna can in principle require SAG criadero-de-fauna-silvestre-exótica registration under the Ley de Caza, but that pathway targets genuinely wild/protected exotics; no regulation clearly extends criadero licensing to commensal rodents. Ley 21.020 (‘Ley Cholito’) requires companion-animal breeders/sellers to register with SAG but its guidance focuses on dogs/cats. Chilean vendors openly breed/sell rats (no active enforcement); the ‘unenforced vs legal’ gap is unresolved.

Sources: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional (BCN), BCN

Selling or giving away   Unregulated / unclear

Confidence: Low · Last verified 2026-06-11

Domestic rats are actively sold on Chilean platforms/specialist stores with no reported enforcement. Chilean law bars commercial sale of wild-captured native fauna but doesn’t clearly reach captive-bred exotic commensal rodents. Ley 21.020 requires companion-animal vendors/breeders to hold SAG registration + per-animal vet health cards (the closest affirmative obligation). No statute prohibits selling/donating captive-bred R. rattus; the ‘especie dañina’ tag affects pest-control authorization, not a commercial ban under Ley 19.473’s current text.

Sources: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional (BCN), BCN

Transport & import   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-11

IMPORT of any live exotic animal (incl. rodents) needs two SAG authorizations under Ley 19.473 Art. 25: (1) an Exotic Fauna Internment Permit from DIPROREN; and (2) a species-specific zoosanitary protocol from PROPEC, ~60–90 days’ notice. ⚠️ Because R. rattus is an established feral pest in Chile, SAG MAY refuse the import permit on ecological grounds (real risk; confirm). Not CITES-listed. INTERNAL transport of lawfully-held pets has no specific permit (Ley Cholito imposes only normal vet care), practically unregulated. Never release.

Sources: SAG, Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional (BCN)

• For import: SAG DIPROREN exotic-fauna internment permit (Art. 25) + PROPEC zoosanitary protocol

Where: SAG, DIPROREN (import permit) / PROPEC (zoosanitary)

Source: SAG

Chile is currently an unclear case. It is building its invasive-species rules under Ley 21.600 (2023) and the new Biodiversity Service (SBAP). The 2025 public consultation on the draft regulation for qualifying invasive species and prevention plans has closed, but the invasive-species catalogue (the actual list) and further rules are still to come. How Rattus rattus is classified there could restrict keeping it as a pet.

The ask: When the MMA/SBAP opens its next public consultation (consulta pública), especially on the invasive-species catalogue, submit a comment asking that domesticated, captive-bred R. rattus kept as pets be distinguished from wild invasive populations: a keeping pathway rather than a flat ban. The fancy rat already kept and sold in Chile is itself the wild brown rat (R. norvegicus), domesticated only in the 19th century; a captive-bred R. rattus is the same case one species over (see https://blonderoofrat.com/how-the-sewer-rat-became-the-fancy-rat/). Dogs and cats are also non-native introduced species documented to harm native wildlife, yet are permitted as pets. Whether the limited additional risk of a few tame, indoor-only, never-released roof rats is similarly outweighed by their companionship and educational value is a cost-benefit judgment for the MMA to make. Watch the consultation portal for the next window.

Where the lever really is: This is decided by the executive regulator (MMA / SBAP) through formal public-consultation windows. The lever is submitting a comment when a window is open, and writing the MMA, not the courts or Congress. No window is open now; the move is to watch for the next one.

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

• Ministerio del Medio Ambiente (MMA), consulta pública (EEI / Ley 21.600) (public comment), official contact page
  The draft regulation qualifying invasive exotic species and prevention plans is run here for public comment under Ley 21.600. Comment while a window is open.
• Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero (SAG) (executive / agency), diproren@sag.gob.cl
  SAG coordinates invasive-species control on the agricultural side; a useful second touchpoint.

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 Ministry of the Environment (MMA),

I am writing about how the roof rat (Rattus rattus) is classified in the invasive-species work under Ley 21.600.

I ask that domesticated, captive-bred roof rats kept as pets be treated separately from wild invasive populations. These are tame animals bred over generations, kept indoors in cages and never released. A fully closed indoor colony poses no realistic invasive risk. A keeping pathway (registration or a simple permit) would protect biodiversity goals without criminalising responsible pet owners.

The fancy rat already kept and sold in Chile is itself the wild brown rat (R. norvegicus), domesticated only in the 19th century; a captive-bred roof rat is the same case one species over. Dogs and cats are also non-native introduced animals documented to harm native wildlife, yet are permitted as pets because their companionship is judged worth the trade-off. Whether the limited additional risk of a few tame, indoor-only, never-released roof rats is similarly outweighed by their companionship and educational value is a cost-benefit judgment for the Ministry to make.

Please consider this distinction in the EEI catalogue and any prevention plan.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Al Ministerio del Medio Ambiente (MMA),

Escribo en relación con la clasificación de la rata negra (Rattus rattus) en el trabajo sobre especies exóticas invasoras que se desarrolla en el marco de la Ley 21.600.

Solicito que las ratas negras domesticadas, criadas en cautiverio y mantenidas como mascotas se traten de forma separada de las poblaciones silvestres invasoras. Son animales mansos, criados durante generaciones, mantenidos en jaulas en interiores y nunca liberados. Una colonia totalmente cerrada y en interiores no representa un riesgo invasor realista. Una vía de tenencia (un registro o un permiso sencillo) permitiría proteger los objetivos de biodiversidad sin criminalizar a las personas responsables que las tienen como mascotas.

La rata domesticada (Rattus norvegicus) que ya se mantiene y se vende en Chile es la propia rata parda silvestre, domesticada solo en el siglo XIX; una Rattus rattus criada en cautiverio es el mismo caso una especie más allá. Los perros y los gatos también son especies introducidas, no nativas, documentadas como dañinas para la fauna silvestre nativa, y aun así se permiten como mascotas porque se juzga que su compañía vale la pena. Si el riesgo adicional, limitado, de unas pocas ratas mansas, mantenidas solo en interiores y nunca liberadas, se ve igualmente compensado por su valor de compañía y educativo es una ponderación de costo-beneficio que corresponde al Ministerio.

Le pido que considere esta distinción en el catálogo de EEI y en cualquier plan de prevención.

Atentamente,
[Su nombre]

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