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

Keeping / owning   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-13

Keeping a captive-bred roof rat is legal with no wildlife or environmental permit. R. rattus is on neither the EU Union list (Reg. 1143/2014) nor Poland’s national IAS list (Rozp. RM 9 Dec 2022, Dz.U. 2022 poz. 2649), so the Art. 7 keeping prohibition of the 2021 Alien Species Act does not apply. It is not on CITES (so no 14-day Starosta registration under Art. 64 of the Nature Conservation Act) and not on the dangerous-animals list (so no RDOŚ permit). Only the general care duties of the Animal Welfare Act apply (Art. 9: shelter, daylight, free movement, food, constant water). Local municipal sanitary law (mandatory deratyzacja of free-roaming rodents) makes escape-proof indoor containment the practical obligation; an escaped roof rat is treated as a pest.

Sources: ISAP / Sejm RP, ISAP / Sejm RP, Dziennik Ustaw (via LEX), EU / EUR-Lex

Breeding   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-13

Hobby breeding of captive roof rats is legal with no state registration. The Animal Welfare Act’s breeder monopoly (Art. 10a) restricts commercial breeding to DOGS AND CATS only and explicitly omits rodents, so a private keeper raising a closed roof-rat lineage needs no breeding license or club affiliation. The Alien Species Act’s breeding prohibition (Art. 7) applies only to listed IAS, and R. rattus is unlisted. CAVEAT: organized, continuous, for-profit breeding/dealing is a ‘supervised activity’ (działalność nadzorowana) under the Animal Health Protection Act (Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1075), requiring prior notification to the District Veterinary Officer (PLW), a facility inspection, and a veterinary identification number (WNI); operating without it is an offence under Art. 85. Occasional hobby litters given away (sprzedaż okazjonalna) fall outside this commercial regime.

Sources: Dziennik Ustaw (via LEX), ISAP / Sejm RP, ISAP / Sejm RP, Biznes.gov.pl (Government of Poland)

Selling or giving away   Legal

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-13

Selling or giving away a captive-bred roof rat is legal. The Alien Species Act bans ‘introduction to trade’ (wprowadzanie do obrotu) only for listed IAS, and R. rattus is unlisted; no CITES certificate of legal origin is required. Commercial sellers are subject to ordinary consumer-warranty rules (rękojmia) and, if running an organized for-profit business, must hold the veterinary WNI (see BREED) and register in CEIDG. ONE GENUINE AMBIGUITY (why confidence is medium): Art. 10a of the Animal Welfare Act bans selling ‘domestic animals’ (zwierzęta domowe) at marketplaces, fairs and exchanges (targowiska, targi, giełdy). Whether a captive-bred roof rat is a ‘domestic animal’ (Art. 4 pt 17) or a ‘wild animal’ (Art. 4 pt 21) is statutorily unresolved (no Supreme Administrative Court ruling). Either way the animal may be sold/given away, but if treated as ‘domestic,’ that must be at the breeder’s premises, the seller’s home, or a licensed pet shop, NOT at an outdoor market. Practically, municipal sanitary rules would block a public-market sale of a synanthropic rodent regardless.

Sources: ISAP / Sejm RP, Dziennik Ustaw (via LEX), ISAP / Sejm RP

Transport & import   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-13

Transport is legal. Domestic movement of a privately owned roof rat needs no certificate, passport or travel permit, only the welfare conditions of the Animal Welfare Act transport chapter (secure, ventilated, escape-proof container protecting against temperature extremes). Intra-EU NON-commercial movement (owner-accompanied, ≤5 animals, no transfer of ownership) is governed by EU Reg. 576/2013, under which pet rodents are ‘other species’ (Annex I Part B) exempt from the microchip/rabies/EU-pet-passport rules that bind dogs/cats/ferrets; Poland’s GIW advises carrying a basic vet attestation of good health for carrier policies. COMMERCIAL or >5-animal intra-EU movement uses an official intra-EU health certificate logged in TRACES NT (Comm. Impl. Reg. (EU) 2021/403); third-country imports must enter via a Border Control Post with a third-country health certificate. No IAS transport bar applies (R. rattus unlisted). Never release.

Sources: EU / EUR-Lex, Główny Inspektorat Weterynarii (GIW), Dziennik Ustaw (via LEX), ISAP / Sejm RP

• Hobby/occasional give-away: no registration required
• Commercial: register the business in CEIDG with the appropriate PKD code
• Commercial: notify the Powiatowy Lekarz Weterynarii (PLW) at the District Veterinary Inspectorate (PIW) BEFORE operating
• Pass the PLW facility inspection and obtain the veterinary identification number (WNI)

Forms: Wpis do rejestru powiatowego lekarza weterynarii (entry in the District Veterinary Officer’s register) · Where: Powiatowy Inspektorat Weterynarii (PIW) / Powiatowy Lekarz Weterynarii (PLW); business: CEIDG

Source: ISAP / Sejm RP, Biznes.gov.pl (Government of Poland)

• Keep escape-proof indoors (municipal deratization targets free-roaming rodents; keeper is strictly liable for escapes)
• Do not sell at outdoor marketplaces/fairs if treating the rat as a ‘domestic animal’ (Art. 10a), sell at premises/home/licensed shop
• Never release a roof rat into the environment

Source: Dziennik Ustaw (via LEX), ISAP / Sejm RP