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

Keeping / owning   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-08

Private possession (tenencia) of a declared invasive species is banned by Decreto 1076/2015 Art. 2.2.2.3.2.2; R. rattus is on the strict-invasive track of Resolución 0848/2008 (High Risk). Ley 2473/2025 amended Civil Code Art. 687 with a paragraph stating exotic/wild fauna are NOT ‘domestic companion animals,’ permanently defeating the captive-bred/’tame’ argument. The state does not distinguish a feral roof rat from a multi-generation captive-bred one. Enforcement (Ley 1333/2009) = preventive confiscation by the environmental authority (CAR) + Environmental Police/GELMA; a seized R. rattus is administratively euthanized (Angiostrongylus/plague vector), not rehomed; fines scale up to 5,000 SMLMV. Only institutional scientific/zoological permit-holders may hold the species, never a private individual.

Sources: Presidencia de Colombia, Ministerio de Ambiente (MAVDT/MADS), Congreso de la República, Congreso de la República

Breeding   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-08

Breeding R. rattus, hobby or commercial, is a criminal offense. Penal Code Art. 329 (Ley 599/2000, as substituted by Ley 2111/2021 Art. 1) penalizes propagating an invasive exotic species without authorization with 48–108 months prison + fines of 167–18,750 SMLMV. The zoocría (captive-breeding) framework of Ley 611/2000 has no hobbyist exemption and cannot license a declared-invasive species (Decreto 1076/2015 bars its commercialization), so no commercial/scientific zoocría permit will issue for the pet trade. There is no closed-cycle (Art. 4) pathway for R. rattus, it sits on the prohibitive Art. 1 track.

Sources: Congreso de la República, Congreso de la República, Presidencia de Colombia

Selling or giving away   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-08

Decreto 1076/2015 Art. 2.2.2.3.2.2 explicitly bans the commercialization and promotion of declared invasive species; the ICA pet-trade whitelists exclude the genus Rattus. Even gratuitous transfer (giving away) is barred because no one can legally possess the animal (tenencia ban), so any transfer just facilitates a further infraction. A licensed pet dealer caught selling R. rattus faces confiscation, fines under Ley 1333/2009, and definitive closure of the establishment.

Sources: Presidencia de Colombia, Congreso de la República, Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA)

Transport & import   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-08

IMPORT: administratively impossible, Resolución ICA 842/2010 limits ‘other pets’ import to ferrets, rabbits, chinchillas, hamsters, guinea pigs and gerbils; the genus Rattus is absent, so the ICA SISPAP system cannot generate the Documento Zoosanitario de Importación (DZI) needed before shipment, and an animal arriving without it is rejected/confiscated/euthanized at the border. INTERNAL movement: needs a Salvoconducto Único Nacional (SUN) under Decreto 1076/2015 Title 2, which requires proof of legal origin (a licensed-zoocriadero receipt or valid ICA import docs), impossible for R. rattus, so no CAR issues one; illegal transport triggers Penal Code Art. 328 (illicit use of renewable natural resources). Not CITES-listed (irrelevant, the invasive ban governs). Never release.

Sources: Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA), Presidencia de Colombia, Congreso de la República

• Do not import, buy, breed, or accept an R. rattus in Colombia, all are prohibited (breeding is criminal).
• If you already possess one: consider a Derecho de Petición (Constitution Art. 23) to MADS asking about a grandfather/amnesty registration or transfer to an authorized scientific bioterium rather than euthanasia.
• Institutions only: scientific/zoological holding requires an ANLA/CAR environmental license (biosecurity containment), not available to individuals.

Where: MADS (policy/amnesty Derecho de Petición); regional CAR (enforcement/SUN); ICA (import)

Source: Presidencia de Colombia, Ministerio de Ambiente (MAVDT/MADS), Congreso de la República

In Colombia there is no legal way for a private individual to keep, breed, buy, sell, give away, import, or transport a roof rat (Rattus rattus), including a tame, captive-bred one. The roof rat is officially cataloged as a High-Risk Exotic Invasive Species (Resolución MAVDT 0848 de 2008), so Decreto 1076 de 2015 (Art. 2.2.2.3.2.2) bans its introduction, sale, transport, promotion, and possession (tenencia). In July 2025, Ley 2473 amended Civil Code Art. 687 to declare that exotic and wild fauna are not domestic companion animals, regardless of how tame the animal is or how many generations it was bred in captivity, which closes the captive-bred-pet argument. Breeding is a criminal offense (Penal Code Art. 329: 48 to 108 months in prison plus fines). Import is administratively impossible because the genus Rattus is not on the ICA pet-import whitelist (Resolución ICA 842/2010, which lists only ferrets, rabbits, chinchillas, hamsters, guinea pigs, and gerbils). A confiscated roof rat is not rehomed: as a potential rat-lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) and plague vector, it is administratively euthanized. Only institutions with a scientific or zoological permit (ANLA/CAR) may legally hold the species, never a private hobbyist. The ban is grounded in ecological and public-health concerns (island ecosystems such as San Andrés and Gorgona; rat lungworm spread via the Giant African Snail), so asking the agency to reinterpret the rule will not work.

The ask: In Colombia today there is no private pathway to keep a roof rat, and a letter will not change that. If you do not already hold one, do not acquire, import, or breed one; breeding is a crime. The realistic, lawful actions are: (1) If you already possess a pre-2025 captive-bred roof rat, file a Derecho de Petición to MinAmbiente (MADS) asking whether any amnesty or pre-existing-possession registration exists to keep it strictly non-breeding until natural death, or whether you may voluntarily surrender it to an authorized scientific bioterium instead of having it euthanized. (2) Optionally ask ICA in writing to confirm whether any administrative exception or tariff code exists to import domestic-line Rattus as a companion animal. The expected answer is none, which documents the gap for the public record. (3) Broadening the law itself (creating a regulated captive-bred companion-rodent category, or distinguishing biosecure indoor lines from feral invasives) is a matter for the Congreso de la República, not the environmental agency, which is correctly applying the current statute. The point to raise with Congress concerns the Ley 2473/2025 line between domestic and exotic fauna: domestication, not wild ancestry, is what makes an animal a domestic companion. The dog descends from the wolf and the cat from a wild felid, yet both are recognized as domestic. The fancy rat (R. norvegicus), kept openly as a pet worldwide, is itself the wild brown rat, domesticated only in the 19th century (see https://blonderoofrat.com/how-the-sewer-rat-became-the-fancy-rat/), so a captive-bred animal can be domesticated regardless of its species’ wild origin. That is a legislative question for Congress to weigh against the species’ zoonotic and island-ecosystem record, not a basis to ask the agency to disregard the statute it must apply.

Where the lever really is: This is the law as written, not a bureaucratic misreading. The agency (MinAmbiente) is applying the statute correctly: (a) Resolución MAVDT 0848 de 2008 puts R. rattus on the strict-invasive (prohibitive) track as High-Risk, not the closed-cycle ‘zoocría’ track; (b) Decreto 1076 de 2015 Art. 2.2.2.3.2.2 bans possession of any declared invasive species; (c) Ley 2473 de 2025 amended Civil Code Art. 687 to state that exotic and wild fauna are not domestic companion animals regardless of taming or captive breeding; and (d) the import whitelist (Resolución ICA 842/2010) does not contain the genus Rattus. The ban rests on a documented zoonotic and ecological record (rat lungworm via the Giant African Snail; plague; island-ecosystem damage). Appealing to MinAmbiente to reinterpret the rules will not change anything: the agency has no discretion to authorize private possession of a declared High-Risk invasive, and a de-cataloging petition is a non-starter given the documented harm. The genuine levers are two, both narrow: (1) For someone who already holds a pre-2025 captive-bred animal, a Derecho de Petición to MinAmbiente is appropriate, but it asks only about amnesty/registration or surrender to a bioterium as a humane alternative to seizure and euthanasia, not a general right to keep pet roof rats. (2) Any change to who may keep the species would require the Congreso de la República to amend the statutory framework (for example, a regulated biosecure captive-line category). There is no private route today, and the agency cannot create one.

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

• Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (MinAmbiente / MADS), Atención y Servicios a la Ciudadanía (PQRSDF / Derecho de Petición) (executive / agency), servicioalciudadano@minambiente.gov.co
  The environmental ministry is the authority that catalogs invasive species and governs possession. It is the correct address for a Derecho de Petición (Constitution Art. 23; Ley 1755 de 2015), but ONLY for the narrow, honest questions: does an amnesty/pre-existing-possession registry exist for an animal already held, and can a voluntarily surrendered animal go to an authorized scientific bioterium instead of being euthanized. Use the official PQRSDF channel (online portal linked from this page, or the servicioalciudadano inbox). It cannot and will not authorize general private keeping, the law forecloses that.
• Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA), Cuarentena Animal / Importación de animales de compañía diferentes a perros y gatos (executive / agency), cuarentena.animal@ica.gov.co
  ICA controls animal import. A short written query asking ICA to confirm whether any tariff code or administrative exception exists to import domestic-line Rattus as a companion animal documents the regulatory gap on the public record (expected answer: none, the genus Rattus is absent from the Resolución 842/2010 whitelist). Useful only as evidence-gathering, not as a route to a permit.
• Congreso de la República de Colombia, Cámara de Representantes (contacto ciudadano / atención al ciudadano) (legislature), official contact page
  Because the prohibition is statutory (Decreto 1076/2015 + Resolución 0848/2008 + Ley 2473/2025), the only body that could ever create a regulated pathway for biosecure captive-bred companion rodents is the legislature, not the agency. This is the official citizen-contact channel for raising that idea with representatives. Realistically a long, uphill ask given the species’ genuine invasive/zoonotic record, included for honesty, not false hope.

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: Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MinAmbiente), Citizen Services / Right of Petition
Subject: Right of Petition regarding an already-held captive-bred Rattus rattus: possible amnesty/registration or transfer to a scientific facility

Dear Sir or Madam,

I write respectfully under the right of petition (Constitution Art. 23; Law 1755 of 2015). I understand that Rattus rattus is listed as a High-Risk Exotic Invasive Species (Resolution 0848 of 2008), that its possession is prohibited (Decree 1076 of 2015), and that Law 2473 of 2025 confirms exotic fauna are not companion animals. I am not contesting that framework or the genuine ecological and public-health concerns behind it.

My questions are narrow: (1) Does any amnesty, pre-existing-possession registry, or special authorization exist that would let a citizen keep a captive-bred specimen acquired before 2025 strictly as a non-breeding, indoor-only animal until its natural death? (2) If not, may such an animal be voluntarily surrendered to an authorized scientific facility (bioterio) rather than being euthanized? The animal in question is captive-bred, tame, kept indoors, and never released.

I request a written reply within the legal term. Thank you for your guidance.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your city / contact details]

Para: Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (MinAmbiente), Atención al Ciudadano / Derecho de Petición
Asunto: Derecho de Petición sobre un ejemplar de Rattus rattus nacido en cautiverio ya en tenencia: posible amnistía/registro o traslado a un bioterio científico

Respetados señores:

En ejercicio del derecho de petición (Art. 23 de la Constitución; Ley 1755 de 2015) me dirijo a ustedes de manera respetuosa. Entiendo que Rattus rattus está catalogada como Especie Exótica Invasora de Alto Riesgo (Resolución 0848 de 2008), que su tenencia está prohibida (Decreto 1076 de 2015) y que la Ley 2473 de 2025 confirma que la fauna exótica no es animal de compañía. No controvierto ese marco ni las legítimas preocupaciones ecológicas y de salud pública que lo sustentan.

Mis preguntas son puntuales: (1) ¿Existe algún mecanismo de amnistía, registro de tenencia preexistente o autorización especial que permita a un ciudadano mantener un ejemplar nacido en cautiverio adquirido antes de 2025, en tenencia estricta, sin reproducción, exclusivamente al interior del hogar y hasta su muerte natural? (2) De no existir, ¿puede dicho ejemplar entregarse voluntariamente a un bioterio científico autorizado en lugar de ser sometido a eutanasia? El animal es nacido en cautiverio, manso, mantenido dentro del hogar y nunca liberado.

Solicito respuesta escrita dentro del término legal. Agradezco su orientación.

Atentamente,
[Su nombre]
[Su ciudad / datos de contacto]

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