Unwanted lab rats find new homes and are adopted thanks to an Argentine organization

BUENOS AIRES: A group of people watched three albino rats leap from small baskets into a big cage on Sunday as other rodents hid in makeshift tunnels or searched for applesauce offered by their keeper through the bars at an indoor hall in the Argentine capital.

It's Ratapalooza, an annual Buenos Aires event that promotes the adoption of rodents raised in animal facilities or used for research in science labs: once the animals are no longer useful, have outlived their purpose, or are just surplus stock.

To attract adoptive families, Team Ratas (Spanish for rats), organizes events such as the Ratapalooza. In Argentina, keeping rats or mice as pets is perfectly legal, as long as they are not wild.

The whole thing turns into something of a fair, complete with stalls selling keychains, mugs, stickers and hair clips in the shape of rats and mice. The money raised goes to veterinary and food expenses for the rodents, which they foster at home before putting them up for adoption.

At one of the stands, Maria Gabriela Aponte held Camamberto, one of the three rats she has adopted, as she sold vegan food, mouse-shaped pins and stickers.

All of them, she said, were raised in labs, in what is called a vivarium, where laboratory animals are kept under strictly controlled conditions.

"People don't really know, or they have a very specific perception of, what a pet is," Aponte told The Associated Press. "Rats are very intelligent and sweet."

Dominique Verdier, who represents Team Ratas, says those interested in adopting rodents must have access to a veterinarian specialized in exotic animals, a spacious cage with lots of accessories for their entertainment, and devote at least one hour a day to quality time spent with their adoptees.

A growing network in Argentina

Team Ratas is a leader in Argentina and Latin America for rehoming lab rats and mice that, without a foster home would otherwise be euthanized.

The initiative started in 2016, when Verdier adopted two rats after a friend told her the university where they were used for research no longer needed them. She set up a rodent rescue network with 90 foster homes in Buenos Aires and nearby towns, housing hundreds of animals from 11 animal facilities and labs. In the last 10 years, she has rescued more than 8,000 animals and found homes for approximately 3,000.

Her organization has more than 60,000 followers on Instagram.

Rodents get an unfair, bad rep

Proximity to rats and mice, and rodents in general may be raising concerns amid the ongoing deadly hantavirus outbreak on a the ill-fated Atlantic cruise ship MV Hondius after the ship stopped in Argentina earlier this month.

Hantavirus is usually spread by breathing in droppings of contaminated wild rodents, which usually live in Patagonia, in southern Argentina. Verdier, who fosters most of the 37 rodents at her home, stresses that lab rats are perfectly healthy. "They do not transmit diseases because they have not had contact with the street nor are they inoculated with viruses and bacteria," she said.

The labs that have been supplying Team Ratas for years only provide animals that have not been infected with any viruses or bacteria. "Several laboratories prefer to euthanize the animals, while others tell me, 'Take them away, we don't want to sacrifice them'," she added.

Veterinarian Silvina Diaz, at the University of Buenos Aires, studies the nervous system of rats and mice at an experimentation laboratory. She supports having the rodents find a new home once their lab careers are over. "It is great that they're doing this work of rehoming animals in families that can give them a good life," said Diaz, who acts as a liaison between vet technicians and Team Ratas.

Verdier, who insists she will keep finding new homes for the little furry creatures, says she is used to the criticism she gets on social media. "If people see a dog shelter, they might admire it, but when I mention Ratapalooza they say, 'What you're doing is silly'," she said. "And I say that I've been doing this for 10 years and it keeps growing."