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

• Spain’s environment ministry for ecological transition (biodiversity mailbox), written reply June 2026, corrected the prior nationwide-ban reading: Rattus rattus is included in the Catálogo Español de Especies Exóticas Invasoras EXCLUSIVELY for the case of the Canary Islands, not nationwide. The ministry also set out the competence split: invasive-species catalogues and exotic/wildlife matters sit with the environment ministry (natural heritage and biodiversity); the animal-welfare framework for companion animals is Ley 7/2023, with competence mainly at the social-rights/consumer ministry (which is also building the companion-animal positive list); animal health, identification, movement, and the sanitary conditions of breeding, trade and transport sit with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; and authorization of núcleos zoológicos, breeding centres and establishment registries sits with the Comunidades Autónomas (regional governments). The practical effect: on the mainland R. rattus is not cataloged, so the Art. 7.1 ban does not reach it and keeping is permissible under the general welfare law pending the positive list; in the Canary Islands it is cataloged and the Art. 7.1 ban applies.

Keeping / owning   Legal

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-11

On the Spanish mainland (and outside the Canary Islands), R. rattus is NOT in the Catálogo Español de EEI, so the RD 630/2013 Art. 7.1 possession ban does not apply and keeping is not prohibited; it is instead governed by the general animal-welfare framework of Ley 7/2023, with the companion-animal positive list still pending and not yet in force. In the Canary Islands, by contrast, R. rattus IS cataloged, so there Art. 7.1 prohibits possession of live specimens. The country-level reality is therefore ‘legal on the mainland, prohibited in the Canaries’; confidence is medium because the forthcoming positive list could change mainland keepability once it takes effect.

Sources: BOE / Gobierno de España, MITECO, BOE / Gobierno de España

Breeding   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-11

On the mainland R. rattus is not cataloged, so the RD 630/2013 Art. 7.1 breeding ban does not apply there; breeding for sale or as an establishment requires a núcleo zoológico authorization from the relevant Comunidad Autónoma (the regional government that authorizes breeding centres and establishment registries), and animal health/identification of bred animals falls under the Ministry of Agriculture. In the Canary Islands, where R. rattus IS cataloged, Art. 7.1 prohibits reproduction of live specimens, so breeding there is barred. Country-level best fit is legal_with_permit (regional núcleo-zoológico authorization on the mainland); confidence medium pending the positive-list outcome.

Sources: BOE / Gobierno de España, BOE / Gobierno de España

Selling or giving away   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-11

On the mainland R. rattus is not cataloged, so the RD 630/2013 Art. 7.1 trade/commerce ban does not apply there; selling or commercially supplying live animals requires a núcleo zoológico authorization from the Comunidad Autónoma, with animal-health/identification/movement conditions under the Ministry of Agriculture, and welfare/transfer requirements under Ley 7/2023. In the Canary Islands, where the species IS cataloged, Art. 7.1 prohibits ‘tráfico y comercio de ejemplares vivos,’ so sale/transfer there is barred. Private free rehoming on the mainland is not banned but is subject to the Ley 7/2023 welfare framework; commercial sale needs the establishment authorization, hence legal_with_permit at country level.

Sources: BOE / Gobierno de España, BOE / Gobierno de España

Transport & import   Legal with a permit

Confidence: Medium · Last verified 2026-06-11

On the mainland R. rattus is not cataloged, so the RD 630/2013 Art. 7.1 transport ban does not apply there; movement of bred or traded animals is instead subject to the animal-health, identification and sanitary-movement rules administered by the Ministry of Agriculture (and ordinary welfare-in-transport requirements). In the Canary Islands, where the species IS cataloged, Art. 7.1 prohibits ‘transporte’ of live specimens. R. rattus is not on the EU Union list, so there is no EU-level border ban; non-commercial pet movement within the EU follows Reg. (EU) 576/2013, but the Canary-Islands catalogue prohibition takes effect on Canarian soil. Country-level best fit is legal_with_permit (sanitary/movement conditions on the mainland); never release.

Sources: BOE / Gobierno de España, EU / EUR-Lex

• Mainland: keep under the Ley 7/2023 welfare framework; watch for the forthcoming companion-animal positive list
• Mainland commercial breeding/sale: obtain a núcleo zoológico authorization from the relevant Comunidad Autónoma; meet Ministry of Agriculture animal-health/movement rules
• Canary Islands: do not acquire, breed, sell or move R. rattus (cataloged invasive, Art. 7.1 ban)
• If advocating: ask the positive-list rulemaking ministry to include captive-bred R. rattus; for the Canaries, the formal exclusión/de-cataloguing procedure

Where: Comunidad Autónoma (núcleo zoológico authorization); environment ministry, biodiversity (Catálogo de EEI / Canaries de-cataloguing); social-rights/consumer ministry (positive list)

Source: BOE / Gobierno de España, BOE / Gobierno de España

Spain’s treatment of the roof rat (Rattus rattus) is territorial, not a blanket ban. The environment ministry confirmed this in writing in June 2026. The species is in the Catálogo Español de Especies Exóticas Invasoras (Real Decreto 630/2013) only for the Canary Islands. On the mainland and elsewhere it is not a cataloged invasive species, so the Article 7.1 possession/breeding/transport/trade ban does not reach it there. Mainland keeping is governed by the 2023 animal-welfare law (Ley 7/2023), under which the companion-animal ‘listado positivo’ (positive list) of species that may be kept as pets is still being written and is not yet in force. The concern is what happens when that list takes effect. The law generally excludes catalogue-listed invasive species from the positive list. Because R. rattus is cataloged in one territory (the Canaries), it is an edge case: a captive-bred domestic line that is legal to keep on the mainland today could be left off the national positive list by default unless the rulemaking treats it deliberately. The barrier is not a current prohibition. It is the risk that a future list closes the door that is open today. The already-permitted ‘fancy rat’ (Rattus norvegicus) 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.

The ask: Ask the ministry responsible for the Ley 7/2023 companion-animal positive list (social-rights/consumer) to include captive-bred Rattus rattus on the listado positivo, or, failing inclusion, to handle it through registration and welfare conditions, so that a species which is lawful to keep on the mainland today remains keepable once the list takes effect. Ask the rulemaking to address the partially-cataloged edge case explicitly: because R. rattus is cataloged only for the Canary Islands and is not an invasive species on the mainland, its captive-bred, indoor, never-released lineages should not be removed from the national positive list by the general ‘no catálogo species’ exclusion, which was designed for species cataloged across Spain. The already-permitted fancy rat (Rattus norvegicus) 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 (see https://blonderoofrat.com/how-the-sewer-rat-became-the-fancy-rat/ ). On the invasive-species concern that underlies the exclusion, the question is a cost-benefit one for Spain to decide. Cats and dogs are also non-native across most of Spain and are documented to harm native and especially island wildlife, yet are permitted everywhere as pets. Whether the limited additional risk of a few sterilized or altered, tame, indoor-only domesticated rats is similarly outweighed by their value as companions is a judgment for the ministry to make. Separately, for keepers in the Canary Islands, ask the environment ministry about the formal exclusión (de-cataloguing) procedure under Article 64 of Ley 42/2007 and RD 630/2013 to remove captive-origin R. rattus from the catalogue for that territory.

Where the lever really is: Two distinct levers, selected by territory and by question. (1) POSITIVE LIST is a rulemaking lever at the social-rights/consumer ministry (Dirección General de Derechos de los Animales), which owns the Ley 7/2023 ‘listado positivo’ royal decree still in progress. The ask is inclusion of captive-bred R. rattus, with explicit treatment of the partial-catalogue edge case (cataloged only in the Canaries, not on the mainland). This is the primary lever because mainland keeping is otherwise already lawful and the only future risk is exclusion-by-default from the positive list. (2) CANARY-ISLANDS DE-CATALOGUING is an agency-procedure lever at the environment ministry (which owns the Catálogo de EEI). The formal exclusión procedure (Art. 64 Ley 42/2007 + RD 630/2013) is open to any citizen or organisation with scientific justification and is the route to lift the Art. 7.1 ban for the Canaries. It is secondary because it only matters for keepers in that territory. Authorization of breeding/sale establishments (núcleos zoológicos) is a separate Comunidad-Autónoma matter, and animal health/movement sits with the Ministry of Agriculture. Neither is an advocacy barrier, only the ordinary permitting layer. No front-desk clarification changes any of this, and the prior positive-list public-comment window is closed, so route the positive-list ask through the rulemaking ministry’s mailbox and consider a keeper-rights ally to carry the scientific case.

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

• Ministerio de Derechos Sociales, Consumo y Agenda 2030, Dirección General de Derechos de los Animales (Ley 7/2023 listado positivo rulemaking) (executive / agency), official contact page
  This is the ministry writing the Ley 7/2023 companion-animal positive list, the instrument that will decide, going forward, whether captive-bred R. rattus may be kept as a pet on the mainland once the list is in force. It is the correct office to ask that captive-bred R. rattus be INCLUDED on the positive list and that the partial-catalogue edge case (cataloged only in the Canaries) be resolved deliberately rather than by the default ‘no catálogo species’ exclusion. The prior public-comment window (17 Apr – 8 May 2026) is closed, so engage via the ministry’s published rulemaking channel rather than as an open consultation.
• Environment ministry, biodiversity sub-directorate (Catálogo Español de EEI): exclusión / de-cataloguing procedure for the Canary Islands listing (executive / agency), buzon-sgb@miteco.es
  This office owns the invasive-species catalogue and confirmed in June 2026 that R. rattus is cataloged ONLY for the Canary Islands. Its formal ‘Catalogación o descatalogación de taxones’ procedure (Art. 64 Ley 42/2007 + RD 630/2013) is open to any citizen or organisation to request exclusión (de-listing) with scientific justification. This is the correct lever ONLY for the Canaries, where the Art. 7.1 ban actually applies, it is irrelevant on the mainland, where the species is not cataloged.
• Federación FAUNA, keeper/breeder rights federation (advocacy ally, not a government body) (executive / agency), official contact page
  Spain’s principal keeper/breeder federation, active in the listado-positivo rulemaking. As an organisation it can carry the scientific/husbandry case for INCLUDING captive-bred R. rattus on the positive list (and, for Canaries keepers, a de-cataloguing petition) more effectively than a lone keeper. Engage as an ally to the rulemaking ask, not as a substitute for it. (Do NOT route this to the conservation-aligned Coalición para el Listado Positivo.)

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: Dirección General de Derechos de los Animales (Ministerio de Derechos Sociales, Consumo y Agenda 2030)
Re: Treatment of captive-bred Rattus rattus in the Ley 7/2023 companion-animal positive list (listado positivo)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing regarding the welfare and legal status of domesticated roof rats (Rattus rattus). The environment ministry has confirmed that R. rattus is in the Catálogo Español de Especies Exóticas Invasoras only for the case of the Canary Islands, and is not a cataloged invasive species on the mainland, where keeping it is governed by Ley 7/2023 rather than by any catalogue ban.

My concern is the forthcoming companion-animal positive list. Because the law generally excludes catalogue-listed species from the positive list, a species cataloged in only one territory (the Canary Islands) risks being left off the national list by default, even though on the mainland it is not an invasive species and is lawful to keep today.

I ask: (1) that captive-bred Rattus rattus be included on the listado positivo, so that a domesticated, indoor, never-released line that is keepable on the mainland today remains keepable once the list is in force; and (2) that the rulemaking address the partial-catalogue situation explicitly, distinguishing the Canary-Islands listing from mainland status, rather than applying the general 'no catálogo species' exclusion to a species that is invasive in only one region. If full inclusion is not possible, please advise whether captive-bred lineages could instead be handled through registration and welfare conditions.

The already-permitted fancy rat (Rattus norvegicus) is itself the wild brown rat, domesticated only in the 19th century. A captive-bred Rattus rattus is the same case one species over.

On the invasive-species concern that underlies the exclusion, this is a cost-benefit question for Spain to decide. Cats and dogs are also non-native across most of Spain and are documented to harm native and especially island wildlife, yet are permitted everywhere as pets. Whether the limited additional risk of a few sterilized or altered, tame, indoor-only domesticated rats is similarly outweighed by their value as companions is a judgment for the ministry to make.

Thank you for your time and for your work on animal welfare.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your town / province]
[Date]

A: Dirección General de Derechos de los Animales (Ministerio de Derechos Sociales, Consumo y Agenda 2030)
Asunto: Tratamiento de la Rattus rattus criada en cautividad en el listado positivo de animales de compañía de la Ley 7/2023

Estimados señores:

Les escribo en relación con el bienestar y el estatus jurídico de las ratas domésticas (Rattus rattus). El ministerio competente en medio ambiente ha confirmado que la R. rattus está incluida en el Catálogo Español de Especies Exóticas Invasoras únicamente para el caso de las Islas Canarias, y no es especie catalogada invasora en la península, donde su tenencia se rige por la Ley 7/2023 y no por ninguna prohibición del Catálogo.

Mi preocupación es el futuro listado positivo de animales de compañía. Dado que la ley excluye con carácter general del listado positivo a las especies catalogadas, una especie catalogada en un solo territorio (las Islas Canarias) corre el riesgo de quedar fuera del listado nacional por defecto, pese a que en la península no es una especie invasora y hoy su tenencia es lícita.

Les ruego: (1) que la Rattus rattus criada en cautividad se incluya en el listado positivo, de modo que un linaje doméstico, mantenido en el interior del hogar y nunca liberado, que hoy puede tenerse en la península, siga pudiendo mantenerse cuando el listado entre en vigor; y (2) que el desarrollo reglamentario aborde de forma expresa la situación de catalogación parcial, distinguiendo la inclusión en Canarias del estatus peninsular, en lugar de aplicar la exclusión general de 'especies catalogadas' a una especie que es invasora en una sola región. Si la inclusión plena no fuera posible, les ruego me indiquen si los linajes criados en cautividad podrían regularse mediante registro y condiciones de bienestar.

La ya permitida rata doméstica (Rattus norvegicus) es la propia rata parda salvaje, domesticada solo en el siglo XIX. Una Rattus rattus criada en cautividad es el mismo caso una especie más allá.

Respecto a la preocupación por el carácter invasor que motiva la exclusión, se trata de una cuestión de coste-beneficio que corresponde decidir a España. Los gatos y los perros son también especies no autóctonas en casi toda España y está documentado que perjudican a la fauna autóctona, en especial a la insular, y aun así se permiten en todas partes como animales de compañía. Si el limitado riesgo adicional de unas pocas ratas domésticas esterilizadas o alteradas, dóciles y mantenidas siempre en interior queda igualmente compensado por su valor como animales de compañía es un juicio que corresponde hacer al ministerio.

Les agradezco su tiempo y la labor que realizan en favor del bienestar animal.

Atentamente,
[Su nombre]
[Su localidad / provincia]
[Fecha]

Did you take action, or get a response? Tell us, it helps the next person, and we track what actually works.