Officials Ban Private Ownership Of Gambian Pouch Rats In Florida

[matcom]

well there goes my Father's Day present :cry:

<snip>

GRASSY KEY, Fla. -- The Gambian pouch rat is no longer welcome in Florida.

The state has banned private ownership of the rodent to keep them from escaping or being released into the wild.

The rat is one of the largest in the world. Officials said they eat crops and spread the monkeypox virus.

Officials hope the ban will help them eradicate a wild colony of the rodents on Grassy Key and keep the rats from becoming one more weird wild animal in the South Florida landscape.

USDA biologists have been planting poisoned peanut butter traps for the rats on Grassy Key.

http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/13466073/detail.html

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Hello, expedia? Yeah, can you cancel my flight to Miami?

Now what am I going to get that man for Father's Day? Last year, I got him a quadruple bypass, I don't think I can top that. :cry:

[taterguy]

2. They'll pry my Gambian Pouch rat from my cold dead fingers

[rug]

3. They're cute.