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

Keeping / owning   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-12

MAINLAND: keeping a domesticated roof rat purely as a personal companion animal is fully legal and needs NO permit. ‘Rattus spp.’ in LNEI Anexo II of DL 92/2019 is asterisked = invasive ONLY in Madeira, so the Article 16 prohibition does NOT apply on the continent, there the roof rat is an ordinary ‘exotic species,’ not an ‘invasive exotic species.’ Article 5’s licensing requirement is expressly limited to keeping/breeding ‘for commercial, scientific or educational purposes,’ so a non-commercial pet is outside it; and the species is absent from Portugal’s ‘negative list’ of prohibited pets (Portaria 1226/2009, Rodentia/Muridae/Rattus omitted). Keeping is governed only by general animal-welfare law (DL 276/2001, DGAV: escape-proof containment, food/water/enrichment). ISLANDS: prohibited, Madeira DLR 17/2023/M; Azores DLR 15/2012/A (Annex IX names R. rattus), via the Article 16 ban with no keeper derogation.

Sources: Diário da República / Governo de Portugal, ICNF, Diário da República / Ministério do Ambiente, Diário da República / DGAV, Região Autónoma da Madeira / Diário da República, Região Autónoma dos Açores / FAOLEX

Breeding   Legal with a permit

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-12

MAINLAND: COMMERCIAL breeding (criação) of the roof rat, breeding to sell offspring to the pet trade, labs, or as feeders, requires a prior ICNF Article 5 license (DL 92/2019), conditioned on Article 6 criteria: escape-proof/biosecure facilities, a contingency plan for the animals if the business ceases, and a traceability registry with an annual stock census to ICNF; a commercial facility additionally needs DGAV pet-business registration. Unlicensed commercial breeding is a serious environmental contraordenação. Purely NON-COMMERCIAL hobby breeding (keeping/giving away offspring with no commercial exchange) falls outside Article 5 and is, on a strict reading, unregulated by ICNF, but the hobby↔commercial threshold is uncodified, so a hobbyist who sells surplus offspring risks being treated as an unlicensed commercial operation (DR open question). Modeled at country level as legal_with_permit (the commercial pathway). ISLANDS: prohibited, Article 16 bars breeding of the species in Madeira and the Azores with no exception.

Sources: Diário da República / Governo de Portugal, ICNF, ICNF, Diário da República / DGAV, Região Autónoma da Madeira / Diário da República, Região Autónoma dos Açores / FAOLEX

Selling or giving away   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-12

MAINLAND: COMMERCIAL sale/dealing of the roof rat requires the ICNF Article 5 license (DL 92/2019) PLUS compliance with the commercial pet-trade law Lei 95/2017 (which, among other things, bars selling exotic/wild animals on unregulated internet/classified platforms). Each commercial transfer must carry a declaração de cedência (or invoice) bearing the seller’s Article 5 license number, and the seller must register the buyer and prove the buyer was informed of the ecological/containment responsibilities (DL 92/2019 Art. 11(2)(i)). PRIVATE, NON-COMMERCIAL give-away (offering a pet for free to another individual) does NOT require an Article 5 license, but a written declaração de cedência is recommended best practice to prove lawful provenance to DGAV/municipal/SEPNA authorities. Modeled at country level as legal_with_permit (the commercial pathway); the private-gift case is effectively legal. ISLANDS: prohibited, Article 16 bars sale, purchase, transfer, and offer-for-sale with no exemption for domesticated variants.

Sources: Diário da República / Governo de Portugal, ICNF, Diário da República / Assembleia da República, Região Autónoma da Madeira / Diário da República, Região Autónoma dos Açores / FAOLEX

Transport & import   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-12

MAINLAND: moving a domesticated roof rat within continental Portugal needs NO wildlife transit permit, only animal-welfare compliance under DL 276/2001 (Art. 30): a secure, well-ventilated, escape-proof carrier protecting the animal from temperature extremes, harm, and stress. Carry a declaração de cedência / purchase receipt to prove lawful, captive-bred provenance in case of a SEPNA inspection. ⚠️ MAINLAND→ISLANDS: transporting/importing R. rattus into Madeira or the Azores is PROHIBITED (Article 16 + regional decrees; a hard ecological border monitored by DGAV/customs/regional authorities). INTRA-EU: R. rattus is NOT CITES-listed and NOT on the EU Union IAS list (Reg. 1143/2014), so it can be moved across EU borders into the mainland under Reg. 576/2013 (non-commercial pet movement); commercial imports need a standard veterinary health certificate and TRACES NT registration. Non-EU imports are treated as ‘exotic species’ and scrutinised by customs/DGAV/ICNF. Never release.

Sources: Diário da República / DGAV, Diário da República / Governo de Portugal, DGAV, ICNF, Região Autónoma da Madeira / Diário da República

• Private companion pet (keep only): no ICNF license required, comply with DL 276/2001 welfare/containment
• Commercial breeding/sale: apply for the ICNF Art. 5 license (Divisão de Aplicação de Normativos) via the unified form, with an escape-proof facility plan + contingency plan
• Register a commercial facility with DGAV (Alojamento de Animais de Companhia) and submit the annual stock census to ICNF
• Use a declaração de cedência (bearing the license number, for commercial transfers) for any transfer of specimens

Forms: ICNF, Licenciamento de Espécies Exóticas (formulário único / Formulário FLORA e FAUNA) · Where: ICNF, Divisão de Aplicação de Normativos (DAN); DGAV (pet-business registration) · Fees: Set by Portaria; confirm the current Art. 5 fee with ICNF

Source: ICNF, ICNF, Diário da República / Assembleia da República

• In Madeira and the Azores, do not keep/breed/sell/import R. rattus, it is a prohibited invasive species (no keeper derogation found)
• Never release a roof rat (a documented invasive threat to island ecosystems)

Where: IFCN (Madeira); DRA / regional authority (Azores)

Source: Região Autónoma da Madeira / Diário da República, Região Autónoma dos Açores / FAOLEX, Diário da República / Governo de Portugal

• Intra-mainland: use a secure, ventilated, escape-proof carrier (DL 276/2001 Art. 30); carry a declaração de cedência / receipt
• Commercial / non-EU import: obtain a veterinary health certificate and register in TRACES NT
• Do NOT route any import to Madeira or the Azores (prohibited)

Where: DGAV (veterinary import / health certificate); Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (customs)

Source: Diário da República / DGAV, DGAV, ICNF

On mainland (continental) Portugal, the domesticated roof rat (Rattus rattus) is not banned, but a one-character detail in the law makes it look that way, and that ambiguity is the barrier. Portugal’s invasive-species law, Decreto-Lei 92/2019 (executing EU Regulation 1143/2014), lists ‘Rattus spp.’ on the National List of Invasive Species (LNEI, Anexo II), but the entry carries an asterisk (*). The law’s own legend states that asterisked species are ‘classified as invasive ONLY in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.’ The Article 16 prohibition therefore applies to Rattus on Madeira (and, separately, the Azores have their own ban under DLR 15/2012/A), but not on the mainland, where the roof rat is a non-native ‘exotic species.’ On the continent, the ICNF Article 5 license is required only for keeping or breeding ‘for commercial, scientific or educational purposes,’ so a private pet kept for companionship needs no ICNF permit, only general animal-welfare compliance (DL 276/2001, DGAV). The roof rat is also absent from Portugal’s ‘negative list’ of prohibited pets (Portaria 1226/2009). The problem is that the asterisk is easy to miss and under-communicated: the conservation sector itself flags the asterisked-species treatment as an anomaly ‘to be corrected in a future revision,’ and a front-line ICNF officer or an anxious keeper may read ‘Rattus spp.’ as a flat genus-wide ban and assume possession is prohibited. On the islands of Madeira and the Azores, by contrast, the ban is real and written into regional law. That is a different, legislative problem, and a keeper there should not expect the agency to override it.

The ask: For mainland keepers: ask ICNF, in writing, to confirm the plain meaning of its own law: that because the LNEI ‘Rattus spp.’ entry is asterisked (Madeira-only), the Article 16 prohibition does not apply on continental Portugal, and that keeping a domesticated Rattus rattus purely as a personal companion animal (no commercial, scientific, or educational purpose) requires no Article 5 license. Ask ICNF to confirm this in a written clarification or circular, and, for anyone who intends to breed or sell commercially, to set out the Article 5 licensing pathway (the current form, the containment criteria for small rodents, the decision time, and the fee), plus what documentation (declaração de cedência) should accompany a non-commercial transfer. These rats are captive-bred, tame, kept permanently indoors in escape-proof enclosures, and are never released. The request is not to change a law, but to apply and communicate the law that already exists. For island keepers (Madeira and the Azores), where the ban rests on the species being invasive and any relief must come from the regional legislature or an EU Reg. 1143/2014 derogation, the question is a cost-benefit one for the islands to decide. Cats and dogs are also non-native and documented to harm island wildlife in particular, yet are permitted there as pets. Whether the limited additional risk of a few sterilized or altered, tame, strictly-indoor domesticated rats is similarly outweighed by their value as companions is a judgment for the legislature to make.

Where the lever really is: Primary lever is the agency (ICNF), via a written clarification. On the mainland this is a bureaucracy-misreading and under-communication problem, not a bad-law problem. The statute is favorable: the LNEI ‘Rattus spp.’ entry is asterisked, and DL 92/2019’s own legend defines the asterisk as ‘invasive ONLY in the Autonomous Region of Madeira,’ so the Article 16 ban does not reach the mainland; and Article 5 licensing is limited to ‘commercial, scientific or educational’ keeping or breeding, so a private companion pet needs no permit. The barrier is that the asterisk is obscure (the conservation sector itself calls it an anomaly ‘to be corrected in a future revision’), so an officer or keeper may apply a flat genus-wide ban the law does not require. A written clarification from ICNF fixes that error. Asking ICNF to issue the clarification is asking it to apply its own law correctly; it is the right and sufficient lever for mainland keepers, and no legislative change is needed. Secondary branch, the islands: in Madeira (DLR 17/2023/M) and the Azores (DLR 15/2012/A, Annex IX names R. rattus), Rattus is listed invasive by regional statute with no keeper derogation found, triggering the Article 16 blanket ban. That is the law as written, correctly applied, and appealing to the regional agency will not change it. Relief there would require the regional legislature or an EU Reg. 1143/2014 derogation mechanism (for example, for sterilized or contained companion animals). This kit’s targets are aimed at the mainland (the agency branch), where the realistic win lives; island keepers are flagged that their route is legislative, not administrative.

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

• ICNF, Espécies Exóticas (exotic-species licensing inbox) (executive / agency), exoticas@icnf.pt
  The national conservation institute that administers the LNEI and grants Article 5 exotic-species licenses. This is the office that can confirm in writing that the asterisked ‘Rattus spp.’ entry is Madeira-only, so the mainland roof rat is NOT caught by the Article 16 ban, and that a private companion pet needs no Article 5 license (which is limited to commercial/scientific/educational keeping). exoticas@icnf.pt is the official inbox for exotic-species licensing forms and queries; the linked page is the official licensing procedure.
• ICNF, general inquiries (geral@icnf.pt) (executive / agency), geral@icnf.pt
  ICNF’s general inbox and contact page (HQ tel. +351 213 507 900). Use as a backstop to route a formal written request for clarification to the responsible division (Divisão de Aplicação de Normativos / Departamento de Conservação da Natureza e da Biodiversidade) if the exotic-species inbox does not respond.
• ICNF, Formulários de Espécies Exóticas (official application form) (executive / agency), official contact page
  Where the unified Article 5 licensing form (Formulário FLORA e FAUNA) and guidance notes are published. A keeper who actually intends to breed/sell commercially submits the completed form here / to exoticas@icnf.pt. Included so the kit shows the concrete next step, not only the advocacy ask.

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

Subject: Request for written clarification: keeping Rattus rattus on mainland Portugal under DL 92/2019

To the ICNF Exotic Species team,

I am writing about keeping domesticated roof rats (Rattus rattus) as companion animals on mainland Portugal, and request a written clarification.

In the National List of Invasive Species (Anexo II, DL 92/2019), the entry "Rattus spp." carries an asterisk, and the legend states that asterisked species are classified as invasive only in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. On that reading, the Article 16 prohibition does not apply on continental Portugal, and Rattus rattus is an ordinary exotic species. I understand that the Article 5 license applies only to keeping or breeding for commercial, scientific, or educational purposes.

Please confirm: (1) that on the mainland Rattus rattus is not subject to the Article 16 prohibition, because the LNEI entry is Madeira-only; (2) that keeping it purely as a personal companion animal, with no commercial, scientific, or educational purpose, does not require an Article 5 license; and (3) for anyone who breeds or sells commercially, the current form, the containment criteria for small rodents, the decision time, and the fee, and what documentation (declaração de cedência) should accompany a non-commercial transfer.

These animals are captive-bred, tame, kept permanently indoors in escape-proof enclosures, and are never released into the wild.

In Madeira and the Azores the position is different, because the species is listed as invasive there by regional law. For keepers in those regions, the route lies with the regional legislature or an EU Regulation 1143/2014 derogation, and the question is a cost-benefit one for the islands to decide. Cats and dogs are also non-native and documented to harm island wildlife, yet are permitted there as pets. Whether the limited additional risk of a few sterilized or altered, tame, strictly-indoor domesticated rats is similarly outweighed by their value as companions is a judgment for the islands to make.

Thank you for your time.

[Your name]
[Your contact details] [Your town/district]

Assunto: Pedido de esclarecimento por escrito: detenção de Rattus rattus em Portugal continental ao abrigo do DL 92/2019

À equipa de Espécies Exóticas do ICNF,

Venho expor a detenção de ratos-pretos domesticados (Rattus rattus) como animais de companhia em Portugal continental e solicitar um esclarecimento por escrito.

Na Lista Nacional de Espécies Invasoras (Anexo II do DL 92/2019), a entrada "Rattus spp." tem um asterisco, e a legenda indica que as espécies assinaladas com asterisco são classificadas como invasoras apenas na Região Autónoma da Madeira. Nessa leitura, a proibição do artigo 16.º não se aplica no continente, sendo o Rattus rattus uma espécie exótica comum. Compreendo que a licença do artigo 5.º se aplica apenas à detenção ou criação para fins comerciais, científicos ou pedagógicos.

Agradeço que confirmem: (1) que, no continente, o Rattus rattus não está sujeito à proibição do artigo 16.º, por a entrada na LNEI ser apenas para a Madeira; (2) que detê-lo exclusivamente como animal de companhia pessoal, sem fim comercial, científico ou pedagógico, não exige licença do artigo 5.º; e (3) para quem crie ou venda com fins comerciais, o formulário em vigor, os critérios de confinamento para pequenos roedores, o prazo de decisão e a taxa aplicável, e que documentação (declaração de cedência) deve acompanhar uma cedência não comercial.

Estes animais são criados em cativeiro, dóceis, mantidos permanentemente em interior, em alojamentos à prova de fuga, e nunca são libertados na natureza.

Na Madeira e nos Açores a situação é diferente, por a espécie aí estar classificada como invasora pela legislação regional. Para quem reside nessas regiões, a via é o legislador regional ou uma derrogação ao abrigo do Regulamento UE 1143/2014, e a questão é de custo-benefício, a decidir pelas ilhas. Os gatos e os cães são também espécies não autóctones e está documentado que prejudicam a fauna insular, e ainda assim são aí permitidos como animais de companhia. Se o limitado risco adicional de algumas ratazanas domésticas esterilizadas ou alteradas, dóceis e mantidas estritamente em interior é igualmente compensado pelo seu valor como animais de companhia é um juízo que cabe às ilhas fazer.

Grato(a) pela atenção dispensada.

[O seu nome]
[Os seus contactos] [A sua localidade/distrito]

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