Are Roof Rats Legal in South Africa? Keeping, Breeding & Selling

• DFFE Directorate: Biodiversity Risk Management (the Alien & Invasive Species Issuing Authority), written reply June 2026: Rattus rattus is NEMBA AIS Category 1b (designated to offshore islands). KEEPING one as a pet requires NO permit. BREEDING/multiplying, SELLING or giving away, and TRANSPORTING are permitted ONLY under a research permit. The AIS amendment list is under Law Reform review and will be gazetted for public comment this financial year. Provincial environmental departments may also regulate (liaise with the relevant province), and veterinary import is handled by the National Department of Agriculture.

Keeping / owning   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-09

DFFE (the AIS Issuing Authority) confirmed in writing (June 2026) that NO permit is required to keep Rattus rattus as a pet; permits for the species are issued only for research purposes. Note a separate provincial layer: some provinces (e.g., Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State) may require a general ‘wild animal in captivity’ permit, so confirm with your provincial environmental department.

Sources: DFFE, DFFE / South African Government, Absolute Exotics SA (secondary)

Breeding   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-09

DFFE confirmed (June 2026): you cannot breed or multiply Rattus rattus unless it is for research purposes. There is no hobbyist/companion breeding permit; the only permits available for the species are research permits. This makes captive propagation by a private keeper effectively prohibited.

Sources: DFFE / South African Government

Selling or giving away   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-09

DFFE confirmed (June 2026) that selling or giving away Rattus rattus is not permitted (‘No’); as with breeding, the only permits issued for the species are for research. Note the practical contrast: the fancy rat (R. norvegicus) carries the same island Cat 1b listing yet is openly traded, a species-not-domestication inconsistency to raise in the public-comment process.

Sources: DFFE / South African Government, African Journal of Ecology (Wiley)

Transport & import   Restricted

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-09

DFFE confirmed (June 2026) that you may transport Rattus rattus only for research purposes, so there is no ordinary pet-transport pathway. Inter-provincial movement also implicates provincial transport permits, and international import is handled separately by the National Department of Agriculture (State Veterinary import permit + health protocol). Never release a roof rat.

Sources: DFFE / South African Government, Absolute Exotics SA (secondary), National Dept of Agriculture (DALRRD)

• If your purpose is genuine research, apply to DFFE Biodiversity Risk Management for a research permit
• Otherwise: keeping is allowed, but do not breed, sell, or give the animal away

Where: DFFE Biodiversity Risk Management (AIS Issuing Authority)

Source: DFFE / South African Government

• Check your provincial conservation authority (e.g., CapeNature in the Western Cape) on whether a captivity permit is required

Where: Provincial environmental department / conservation authority

Source: Absolute Exotics SA (secondary)

Where: DFFE (research transport); National Dept of Agriculture / DALRRD (import); provincial authority (inter-provincial)

Source: National Dept of Agriculture (DALRRD), Absolute Exotics SA (secondary)

South Africa’s environment department (DFFE) confirmed in June 2026 that an amendment to the NEMBA Alien and Invasive Species lists is in Law Reform review and will be gazetted for public comment this financial year.

The ask: When the amended AIS list is gazetted for comment, submit a comment asking that domesticated R. rattus kept as pets be handled distinctly from wild invasive populations, for example a keeping or permit pathway rather than a blanket prohibition. The fancy rat (Rattus norvegicus) carries the same island Category 1b listing yet is openly kept and sold in South Africa. The already-permitted fancy rat is itself the wild brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), 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/ . Cats and dogs are also non-native and well documented to harm indigenous and island wildlife, yet are permitted as pets because their companionship is judged worth the trade-off. Whether the limited additional risk of a few sterile, tame, indoor-only roof rats, never released, is similarly outweighed by that benefit is a cost-benefit judgment for DFFE to make.

Where the lever really is: This is executive rulemaking with a built-in public-comment step. The lever is the gazette comment window and a letter to DFFE’s biodiversity directorate, not Parliament. On the species-not-domestication point, see https://blonderoofrat.com/how-the-sewer-rat-became-the-fancy-rat/ .

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

• Dept. of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment (DFFE), Biodiversity / AIS (public comment), AISpermits@dffe.gov.za
  DFFE runs the AIS listing and its comment process; the official comment address is published with the gazette notice.

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 Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), Biodiversity,

I am commenting on the amendment to the NEMBA Alien and Invasive Species lists.

I ask that domesticated roof rats (Rattus rattus) kept as pets be handled distinctly from wild invasive populations. Captive-bred pet roof rats are tame, kept indoors in secure cages, and never released. A keeping or permit pathway would meet the conservation aim without penalising responsible pet owners.

The fancy rat (Rattus norvegicus) carries the same island Category 1b listing yet is openly kept and sold. The fancy rat 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 put the underlying question as one for the Department to decide. South Africa already permits cats and dogs, which are themselves non-native and well documented to harm indigenous and island wildlife, because their companionship is judged worth the trade-off. The narrow question is whether the limited additional risk of a few sterile, tame, indoor-only roof rats, never bred for release and never set loose, is outweighed by the same companionship benefit. I do not ask the Department to assume the answer; I ask it to weigh that trade-off rather than close the question with a blanket prohibition.

Please consider this distinction in the amended list.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

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