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

Keeping / owning   Unregulated / unclear

Confidence: Low · Last verified 2026-06-12

R. rattus is NOT on the federal prohibited-keeping list (Disposition 1163-r of 08.05.2025, in force 01.09.2025, replacing Decree 795/2019, the only Rodentia entry is American porcupines, so keeping is not federally banned outright). BUT absence from that list does not confer ‘domestic pet’ status. Because R. rattus has no recognized domesticated subspecies in Russian law (unlike R. norvegicus domestica, kept freely with no permit), the DR reads it as defaulting to an ‘object of the animal world’ under Federal Law No. 52-FZ ‘On Wildlife.’ Article 26 permits keeping/breeding wildlife in ‘semi-free conditions and an artificially created habitat’ (a residential cage qualifies) ONLY with a permit from the regional Rosprirodnadzor. Keeping without that permit is an administrative offense under Art. 7.11 KoAP RF (fines 500–1,000 RUB for citizens; 10,000–20,000 RUB for legal entities) and can trigger judicial confiscation. The SEVIN Top-100 invasive listing and the agricultural-pest (deratization) classification carry no keeping ban but underscore the absolute no-release rule. ‘Unclear/low’ because whether a regional Rosprirodnadzor inspector actually applies the Art. 26 wildlife-permit requirement to a captive-bred, multi-generation decorative roof rat, versus deferring it to unregulated companion-animal status like the fancy rat, is undefined in statute and turns on discretionary regional interpretation.

Sources: Russian Federation (official legal publication portal), Government of the Russian Federation, Russian Federation (via ConsultantPlus); enforced by Rosprirodnadzor, Russian Federation (via ConsultantPlus)

Breeding   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-12

Breeding follows keeping. If a regional Rosprirodnadzor classifies captive-bred R. rattus as an ‘object of the animal world,’ then breeding it in captivity strictly requires the Art. 26 permit of Federal Law No. 52-FZ (the same wildlife-in-an-artificial-habitat authorization as keeping), and the applicant must show enclosures secure enough to prevent escape into the ecosystem plus humane-husbandry compliance under 498-FZ. Commercial-scale breeding adds a second layer: sanitary-epidemiological compliance and routine veterinary inspection under the Law on Veterinary Medicine (No. 4979-1) and SanPiN rules (rodents are regulated as susceptible hosts for listeriosis/trichinellosis). There is no dedicated USDA-style ‘pet-rodent breeder licence,’ but a commercial breeder must maintain dual compliance (Rosprirodnadzor enclosure standards + Rosselkhoznadzor sanitary standards). Confidence medium because the underlying wildlife-classification question (which determines whether the Art. 26 permit applies at all) is itself unresolved.

Sources: Russian Federation (via ConsultantPlus); enforced by Rosprirodnadzor, Russian Federation (official legal publication portal), Russian Federation (via ConsultantPlus); enforced by Rosselkhoznadzor

Selling or giving away   Legal with a permit

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-12

Any transfer of ownership of an animal, sale OR gift, requires a Veterinary Accompanying Document (VSD). Government Decree No. 2463 of 31.12.2020 (Retail Trade Rules, Section IX) mandates that the seller provide a veterinary certificate confirming the species’ health and origin and that the species is not on the prohibited list. Critically, VSDs are electronic, generated and tracked in the Federal State Information System (FSIS) ‘Mercury’ (Меркурий), administered by Rosselkhoznadzor under the Law on Veterinary Medicine No. 4979-1; anyone selling a rodent must be registered in Mercury, and there is NO hobbyist/small-breeder exemption. In practice hobbyists comply by taking the animal to a state veterinary clinic (SBBZh), which examines it and issues the VSD for a nominal fee, transferring the animal from the seller’s registered address to the buyer’s. High confidence: veterinary traceability for rodents is strictly enforced regardless of domestic-vs-wild taxonomy. (Open practical question: how strictly regional vets enforce VSDs for non-commercial free gifting between private individuals in the same municipality.)

Sources: Government of the Russian Federation (via ConsultantPlus), Russian Federation (via ConsultantPlus); enforced by Rosselkhoznadzor, Russian Federation (official legal publication portal)

Transport & import   Restricted

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-12

Two very different pictures. DOMESTIC transit is restricted-but-formalized: it requires an electronic VSD (Form 1 for inter-regional movement, Form 4 for intra-regional) verifying health and origin from an epizootically safe area; rodents may otherwise be carried on long-distance trains (Russian Railways) as baggage, limited to 2 small animals per ticket, with the carrier legally absolved of all liability for the animal’s injury, illness, loss, or death (Art. 8, Charter of Railway Transport). INTERNATIONAL import is the hard wall: a Rosselkhoznadzor directive of 2 June 2022 (issued in response to the global Mpox outbreak) bans the import of ALL rodents into Russia except specimens destined for laboratory research, zoos, zoological gardens, circuses, and zooteaters, which excludes private pet/personal/breeding imports entirely, with no recognized exception for ‘tame’ or captive-bred status. Even authorized institutional imports face multi-tiered quarantine (in the exporting country plus a second Rosselkhoznadzor-supervised domestic quarantine) with mandatory Mpox laboratory testing at the owner’s expense. This emergency directive overrides the general EAEU customs allowances (the Form 41 zoo/exotic certificate and the CTS 317/2010 Ch. 15 simplified travellers’ regime are rendered moot for private rodent import). Therefore private import of R. rattus is currently effectively PROHIBITED; domestic movement is restricted by the VSD requirement. Never release a nonnative.

Sources: Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for Veterinary & Phytosanitary Surveillance), Russian Federation (via ConsultantPlus); enforced by Rosselkhoznadzor, Rospotrebnadzor (explaining RZD passenger rules) / Ministry of Transport, Customs Union Commission / EAEU

• Determine with the regional Rosprirodnadzor whether captive-bred decorative R. rattus is treated as an ‘object of the animal world’ (wildlife) or deferred to companion-animal status like R. norvegicus
• If treated as wildlife: apply to the regional Rosprirodnadzor for an Art. 26 permit to keep/breed wildlife in an artificially created habitat, documenting escape-proof enclosures and humane husbandry
• Maintain secure, fail-safe containment (R. rattus is a state-recognized invasive pest, escape/release is multiply unlawful)

Where: Regional territorial office of Rosprirodnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources); electronic reception https://rpn.gov.ru/petition/

Source: Russian Federation (via ConsultantPlus); enforced by Rosprirodnadzor, Russian Federation (via ConsultantPlus)

• Register in (or have the issuing state vet act through) the FSIS Mercury system
• Take the rat to a state veterinary clinic (SBBZh) for clinical examination
• Obtain the electronic VSD (Form 1 inter-regional / Form 4 local) before sale, gift, or movement
• For a retail sale, also provide the buyer the vet certificate and species/care information per Decree 2463/2020 §IX

Forms: VSD via FSIS ‘Mercury’ (Меркурий), Rosselkhoznadzor electronic veterinary certification · Where: State veterinary clinic (SBBZh) / Rosselkhoznadzor (FSIS Mercury) · Fees: Nominal state-vet clinic fee for the VSD

Source: Russian Federation (via ConsultantPlus); enforced by Rosselkhoznadzor, Government of the Russian Federation (via ConsultantPlus)

• Do NOT attempt to import a pet roof rat into Russia, private rodent import is currently barred under the 2 June 2022 Rosselkhoznadzor directive (only lab/zoo/circus institutional imports are allowed, with quarantine + Mpox testing)
• Confirm current status with Rosselkhoznadzor before any cross-border plan (the directive is an emergency measure and could be amended/repealed)

Where: Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for Veterinary & Phytosanitary Surveillance), border veterinary control

Source: Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for Veterinary & Phytosanitary Surveillance)

Source: Severtsov Institute of Ecology & Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Federation (official legal publication portal)