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

Keeping / owning   Legal with a permit

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-13

No Italian law prohibits keeping captive-bred R. rattus. The 1996 dangerous-animals decree (DM 19 aprile 1996) lists five rodent families (Hystricidae, Erethizontidae, Hydrochoeridae, Dinomyidae, Dasyproctidae) but not the family Muridae, so the roof rat is not a banned ‘dangerous’ species; it is not on the EU IAS Union list or CITES. The roof rat is a ‘specie selvatica’ under D.Lgs 135/2022 (whose definition covers native wild species), so it sits in the wild/exotic regime, not the ordinary-pet regime that covers the domesticated fancy rat (R. norvegicus). Art. 3 of D.Lgs 135/2022 makes keeping the wild/exotic companion species in Annex I of Reg. (EU) 2016/429 (which includes rodents) lawful while the ‘lista negativa’ of banned species is unpublished. From 1 January 2026, private keepers of such animals must complete a mandatory training course (D.Lgs 220/2025). Note: the mandatory microchip + SINAC registration under D.Lgs 134/2022 applies to dogs, cats and ferrets, not to pet rodents. Status could shift if the lista negativa publishes and includes R. rattus.

Sources: Ministero dell’Ambiente / MIMIT (G.U. 3 ottobre 1996, n. 232), Gazzetta Ufficiale, FNOVI (Federazione Nazionale Ordini Veterinari Italiani), Gazzetta Ufficiale

Breeding   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-13

Hobby breeding of captive-bred R. rattus is not expressly prohibited (it is on no published banning list). The Ministry of Health clarification of 27 June 2023 confirms the D.Lgs 135/2022 reproduction ban targets wild-caught exotic animals introduced after the decree, not captive-bred ones, so captive breeding is preserved. Under the EU Animal Health Law (Reg. 2016/429, implemented by D.Lgs 134/2022), the breeding establishment is registered with the local ASL; small amateur operations register directly at the ASL without a municipal SUAP step. Numeric thresholds separating amateur from commercial breeding are set regionally (for example ULSS 9 Scaligera in Veneto treats up to two to three breeding females as amateur). Commercial breeding triggers a SUAP/SCIA filing, structural and welfare standards, and stamped birth/death/transfer registers. Risk: a future lista negativa including R. rattus would prohibit breeding.

Sources: Gazzetta Ufficiale, Gazzetta Ufficiale, ASL / Servizio Veterinario regionale

Selling or giving away   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-13

No R. rattus-specific ban on sale or transfer. Gratuitous transfer by a hobbyist is unimpeded once the animal is lawfully held. Commercial sale requires an ASL establishment registration plus a municipal SUAP/SCIA authorization, a stamped load/unload register (registro di carico e scarico), and per-animal traceability. The exotic-animal decree (D.Lgs 135/2022) subjects distance/online selling (no immediate handover) to a prior veterinary health certification. Occasional hobby litters typically fall below the commercial-registration threshold (region-dependent). A future lista negativa including R. rattus would bar commercialization.

Sources: Gazzetta Ufficiale, Gazzetta Ufficiale, ASL / Servizio Veterinario regionale

Transport & import   Legal with a permit

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-13

Intra-EU non-commercial movement of pet rodents falls under Reg. (EU) 576/2013 Annex I Part B. Rodents are not covered by the unified EU pet passport (which is for dogs, cats and ferrets); Italy requires an origin-country veterinary health certificate, owner accompaniment, no change of ownership, and a maximum of 5 animals, or the movement is reclassified as commercial. R. rattus is not CITES-listed, so no CITES permit is needed. Import from outside the EU must clear an Italian Border Inspection Post (PIF) with third-country health certification; rabies titer testing is generally waived for small rodents from low-risk countries. Release is prohibited (Art. 727 Codice Penale plus environmental control of the species). Never release.

Sources: EU / EUR-Lex, Gazzetta Ufficiale, EU / EUR-Lex

• Confirm R. rattus is not (and will not be) on the lista negativa via the Ministry of Health / MASE
• If keeping as a wild/exotic companion animal, complete the mandatory training course required from 1 January 2026 (D.Lgs 220/2025)
• For breeding, register the establishment with your local ASL (Azienda Sanitaria Locale)
• Above the regional amateur threshold (commercial scale), file a SUAP/SCIA with the municipality and keep the required registers

Where: Local ASL (Azienda Sanitaria Locale); municipal SUAP for commercial scale; Ministry of Health DGSAF / MASE for lista-negativa status · Fees: Regional ASL tariff for breeding-establishment registration/inspection (borne by the breeder); municipal SUAP/SCIA fees for commercial scale

Source: Gazzetta Ufficiale, ASL / Servizio Veterinario regionale

• Intra-EU non-commercial: carry an origin-country vet health certificate; owner-accompanied; max 5 animals; no sale on arrival
• Third-country import: clear an Italian PIF with the required health certificate
• Distance/online sale: obtain a prior veterinary health certification

Where: Origin-country authorized veterinarian; Italian Border Inspection Post (PIF) for third-country import

Source: EU / EUR-Lex, Gazzetta Ufficiale

In Italy, keeping a captive-bred roof rat (Rattus rattus, “ratto nero”) is currently lawful, but it sits in the wild/exotic-animal regime rather than the ordinary-pet regime that covers the fancy rat. The 1996 dangerous-animals decree (DM 19 aprile 1996 under Legge 150/1992) lists five rodent families (Hystricidae, Erethizontidae, Hydrochoeridae, Dinomyidae, Dasyproctidae) but not the family Muridae, so R. rattus is not a banned ‘dangerous’ species, and it is not on the EU invasive-species Union list or on CITES. Under Art. 3 of D.Lgs 135/2022, keeping a wild/exotic companion species is allowed only for species named in a Ministry of Health decree, but a contingency clause makes the whole Annex I set of Reg. (EU) 2016/429 (which includes rodents) lawful to keep while the ‘lista negativa’ of banned species is not published. That banning list, due since March 2023, is still unpublished in 2026. The agency is not misreading the law; under the law as it stands today, the captive-bred roof rat is permitted. The risk is a rule that has not been written yet. If R. rattus were added to the lista negativa, keeping and breeding would become illegal (existing owners could keep an animal to natural death, with breeding barred). The time to make the case is before the list is fixed. D.Lgs 135/2022 defines ‘specie selvatica’ to include native wild species, so the roof rat is swept in even though it is a small companion rodent. The already-permitted fancy rat (Rattus norvegicus) is itself the wild brown rat, domesticated only in the 19th century, so a captive-bred Rattus rattus is the same case one species over.

The ask: Write to the two ministries that jointly draft the lista negativa (the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Environment / MASE) and ask them to confirm in writing that the captive-bred domesticated roof rat (Rattus rattus), a small companion rodent and not a dangerous or wild-caught species, will not be included on the forthcoming lista negativa under D.Lgs 135/2022. The relevant test is domestication, not wild ancestry. The dog descends from the wolf and the cat from a wild felid, yet both are recognised as domestic animals, because what makes an animal domestic is generations of captive breeding for tameness. A captive-bred roof rat is domesticated in that same sense. The already-permitted fancy rat (Rattus norvegicus) is itself the wild brown rat, domesticated only in the 19th century, so a captive-bred Rattus rattus is the same case one species over (see https://blonderoofrat.com/how-the-sewer-rat-became-the-fancy-rat/ ). Ask that small companion rodents bred in captivity be kept off the ban list, or, if any threshold applies, that a clear path to keep them legally be preserved.

Where the lever really is: The lever is the legislature/rulemaking side, not the front-line agency. Under the law as it exists today, the local ASL is applying it correctly: there is no species ban on R. rattus, so writing to an ASL to clarify or permit a rat will not change anything, and any ASL registration is a legitimate notification, not an error. There is no agency misreading to fix. The exposure is secondary legislation not yet enacted: the lista negativa mandated by D.Lgs 135/2022, drafted jointly by the Ministry of Health and MASE, overdue since March 2023 and still unpublished in 2026. Because that list is an interministerial decree (rulemaking) rather than an ASL decision, the correct touchpoint is the drafting ministries during the rulemaking window, to ensure captive-bred small companion rodents are not added, not a front-line health office. Appealing to a local ASL would be aimed at the wrong body. The advocacy is preventive: shape the rule before it is finalized, because once R. rattus is on a statutory ban list, no agency can exempt it.

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

• Ministero della Salute, Direzione Generale della Sanità Animale e dei Farmaci Veterinari (DGSAF) (co-author of the D.Lgs 135/2022 implementing decrees, incl. the lista negativa) (executive / agency), official contact page
  One of the two ministries that jointly draft and sign the lista negativa decree under D.Lgs 135/2022. The right body to ask that captive-bred small companion rodents (R. rattus) be kept off the ban list. Use the official contacts page; for a formal submission send to the institutional certified inbox (PEC) dgsa@postacert.sanita.it. Do not write to a named individual officer.
• Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica (MASE), Ufficio Relazioni con il Pubblico (URP) (executive / agency), urp@mase.gov.it
  The co-drafting ministry for the D.Lgs 135/2022 lista negativa and the authority that published the related positive list. The URP is the verified official intake channel; institutional PEC mase@pec.mase.gov.it for a formal submission. Writing to both ministries covers the two signatures the ban-list decree requires.

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 Direzione Generale della Sanità Animale e dei Farmaci Veterinari (Ministero della Salute) and to MASE,

I am writing about the forthcoming "lista negativa" of banned species under Legislative Decree 135/2022, which is still unpublished. I ask you to confirm that the captive-bred domesticated roof rat (Rattus rattus) will not be included on that list.

The roof rats kept by hobbyists are bred in captivity, tame, kept indoors as companion animals, and never released into the wild. They are small companion rodents, like the familiar fancy rat (Rattus norvegicus), not dangerous or wild-caught species. The decree's stated aim targets dangerous and exotic taxa, and the only rodent families on the 1996 dangerous-animals decree are porcupines and a few large hystricomorphs, not the mouse and rat family. The relevant test is domestication, not wild ancestry. The dog descends from the wolf and the cat from a wild felid, yet both are recognised as domestic animals, because what makes an animal domestic is generations of captive breeding for tameness, not its Latin name. A captive-bred roof rat is domesticated in that same sense. The already-permitted fancy rat (Rattus norvegicus) is itself the wild brown rat, domesticated only in the 19th century, so a captive-bred Rattus rattus is the same case one species over.

I ask that captive-bred small companion rodents, including domesticated R. rattus, be excluded from the lista negativa, or that a clear legal path to keep them be preserved. Please confirm the current drafting status of the list and how the public may comment.

Thank you for your consideration.

[Your name]
[Your town/region, Italy]

Alla Direzione Generale della Sanità Animale e dei Farmaci Veterinari (Ministero della Salute) e al MASE,

Scrivo in merito alla "lista negativa" delle specie di cui sarà vietata la detenzione, prevista dal D.Lgs 135/2022 e tuttora non pubblicata. Chiedo di confermare che il ratto nero domestico, allevato in cattività (Rattus rattus), non sarà incluso in tale lista.

I ratti neri tenuti dagli appassionati sono allevati in cattività, docili, custoditi in casa come animali d'affezione e non vengono mai rilasciati in natura. Sono piccoli roditori da compagnia, come il comune ratto domestico (Rattus norvegicus), e non specie pericolose o catturate in natura. La finalità dichiarata del decreto riguarda taxa pericolosi ed esotici, e le uniche famiglie di roditori presenti nel DM 19 aprile 1996 sugli animali pericolosi sono gli istrici e pochi grandi istricomorfi, non la famiglia dei topi e dei ratti. Il criterio rilevante è la domesticazione, non l'ascendenza selvatica. Il cane discende dal lupo e il gatto da un felide selvatico, eppure entrambi sono riconosciuti come animali domestici, perché ciò che rende domestico un animale sono generazioni di allevamento in cattività per la docilità, e non il suo nome latino. Un ratto nero allevato in cattività è domestico in questo stesso senso. Il ratto domestico già consentito (Rattus norvegicus) è esso stesso il ratto bruno selvatico, domesticato solo nell'Ottocento, sicché un Rattus rattus allevato in cattività è lo stesso caso una specie più in là.

Chiedo che i piccoli roditori da compagnia allevati in cattività, incluso il R. rattus domestico, siano esclusi dalla lista negativa, oppure che sia preservato un chiaro percorso legale per detenerli. Vi prego di confermare lo stato di redazione della lista e le modalità con cui il pubblico può presentare osservazioni.

Vi ringrazio per l'attenzione.

[Your name]
[Comune/Regione, Italia]

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