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

Keeping / owning   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-10

Keeping a captive-bred R. rattus purely as a private pet is fully legal and requires no permit, fee, or registration. The DR confirms R. rattus is absent from the EU Union list (Reg. 1143/2014 + Implementing Reg. 2016/1141) and from Annex 2 of Government Reg. 449/2019 Z.z. (as am. 396/2023), the operative national invasive list names mink (Mustela vison) and the like but no member of genus Rattus. It is not CITES-listed and, as a synanthropic non-native, holds no protected-native status under Act 543/2002. Decree 283/2020 Z.z. §1(3)(a) expressly includes rodents (hlodavce) in the ‘spoločenské zvieratá’ (companion animal) definition, and ŠVPS SR guidance states the facility-registration mandate ‘does not apply to households in which companion animals are kept exclusively for private non-commercial purposes’, only baseline welfare duties (Act 39/2007, Decree 283/2020) attach.

Sources: National Council of the Slovak Republic (Slov-Lex), Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development SR (Slov-Lex), Government of the Slovak Republic (Slov-Lex), Government of the Slovak Republic, European Union (EUR-Lex), National Council of the Slovak Republic (Slov-Lex)

Breeding   Legal with a permit

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-10

Breeding R. rattus and retaining ALL offspring within one’s own household remains exempt from registration. But breeding with intent to transfer any offspring (sell, exchange, or donate) makes the keeper a ‘chovné zariadenie’ (breeding facility, Decree 283/2020 §1(3)(b)) and requires prior registration with the competent Regional Veterinary & Food Administration (RVPS), a major 2022 amendment to Act 39/2007 ended unregulated hobby breeding of companion animals, and ŠVPS SR enforces it across rodents with no small-scale/accidental-litter exemption. Registration is by filing ‘Ohlásenie začatia činnosti chovného zariadenia pre spoločenské zvieratá’ to the local RVPS (hobbyists give rodné číslo; businesses give IČO) before bringing in breeding stock; the facility must meet Decree 283/2020 spatial/welfare standards (the rat, ‘potkan,’ both Rattus species, needs ≥0.20 m² for one animal, +0.10 m² per additional, ≥0.30 m height). So pure personal breeding with no transfer = legal (no permit); breeding-for-transfer = legal_with_permit.

Sources: National Council of the Slovak Republic (Slov-Lex), Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development SR (Slov-Lex), ŠVPS SR

Selling or giving away   Legal with a permit

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-10

Any domestic transfer of ownership of R. rattus, sale, exchange, OR free donation/adoption, is legal but classed as a regulated activity requiring the transferor to hold an active RVPS breeder registration; ŠVPS SR trade guidance is explicit that there is NO small-scale or accidental-litter exemption, and gifting is treated the same as selling (the rationale is epidemiological traceability of every transferred animal). No species-specific permit distinguishes R. rattus from R. norvegicus (both are rodents in one legal class) and no CITES permit applies. A person who buys from multiple breeders to resell is instead an animal-collection center (‘stredisko na zhromažďovanie’), needing the stricter approval (schválenie) with pre-operational inspection rather than mere registration; a continuous for-profit seller additionally needs a Trade License (IČO) under Act 455/1991.

Sources: National Council of the Slovak Republic (Slov-Lex), Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development SR (Slov-Lex), ŠVPS SR

Transport & import   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-10

DOMESTIC transport within Slovakia is essentially unregulated administratively, no passport, health certificate, or microchip, subject only to general welfare (ventilation, temperature, space). INTRA-EU: rodents are explicitly EXCLUDED from the EU Pet Passport (Reg. 576/2013, dogs/cats/ferrets only). Non-commercial movement (≤5 animals, no ownership transfer, owner travels within 5 days) needs an official rodent health certificate plus a clinical exam by an official vet at origin; commercial movement (a buyer across a border, or >5 animals) must be pre-notified in TRACES NT with an intra-Union veterinary certificate, from a registered facility to a registered RVPS facility (Reg. 2016/429 + Delegated Reg. 2020/692). THIRD-COUNTRY IMPORT is the most demanding: WOAH-member origin, entry only via a designated Border Control Post with a Common Health Entry Document (CHED), an official-vet health certificate (translated to Slovak), and origin from a registered/approved holding, no mandatory state quarantine if paperwork is flawless. R. rattus is on no prohibited-import or CITES list. Microchip nuance: imported rodents must carry an ISO 11784 transponder; a size-based derogation exists but BCP vets typically expect adult roof rats to be chipped, so a microchip should be treated as the default unless an official vet grants a written waiver. Never release.

Sources: National Council of the Slovak Republic (Slov-Lex), ŠVPS SR, ŠVPS SR, European Union (EUR-Lex)

• Keeping only (household, non-commercial): nothing required
• To breed-and-transfer / sell / give: file ‘Ohlásenie začatia činnosti chovného zariadenia pre spoločenské zvieratá’ with your local RVPS BEFORE bringing in breeding stock (hobbyist = rodné číslo; business = IČO)
• Meet Decree 283/2020 spatial/welfare conditions (rat: ≥0.20 m² for one, +0.10 m²/animal, ≥0.30 m height; easy-to-clean, ventilated, lit, predator/parasite-protected enclosure)
• Continuous for-profit sale: also obtain a Trade License (IČO) under Act 455/1991
• Acting as a broker/collection center: apply for the stricter approval (schválenie) with pre-operational state-vet inspection

Forms: Ohlásenie začatia činnosti chovného zariadenia pre spoločenské zvieratá · Where: Local Regional Veterinary & Food Administration (RVPS), one of 40 territorial offices · Fees: Companion-animal facility registration fee not explicitly published in the operative texts (the €33 individual / €100 corporate figures cited in bulletins are for FARM-animal holdings); confirm current fee with the RVPS

Source: National Council of the Slovak Republic (Slov-Lex), Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development SR (Slov-Lex), ŠVPS SR

• Domestic: no documents (welfare in transit only)
• Intra-EU non-commercial: official rodent health certificate + origin clinical exam by an official vet
• Intra-EU commercial: TRACES NT pre-notification + intra-Union veterinary certificate (registered → registered RVPS facility)
• Third-country import: WOAH-member origin; pre-notify the Border Control Post (≥1 working day) via CHED; carry an official-vet health certificate translated to Slovak from a registered/approved holding; microchip (ISO 11784) unless an official vet grants a written size waiver

Forms: Rodent health certificate, Common Health Entry Document (CHED), Intra-Union veterinary certificate (TRACES NT) · Where: ŠVPS SR (competent authority for movement/import); EU Border Control Post for third-country entry · Fees: Per official-vet examination + certification; BCP/CHED handling fees for imports

Source: ŠVPS SR, ŠVPS SR, European Union (EUR-Lex)

Fees: Administrative fines up to €1,000 (individuals) / €20,000 (legal entities) for veterinary-care violations under Act 39/2007

Source: National Council of the Slovak Republic (Slov-Lex)