Rat-catcher
Overview
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
of catching rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s as a form of pest control
Pest control
Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy.-History:...
. In developed countries the role may be merged with, or the title inflated to, Pest Control Operative
Pest control
Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy.-History:...
or Pest Technician
National Pest Technicians Association
The National Pest Technicians Association is a professional trade association for pest control companies in the UK, with over 850 total memberships. Pests concerned with include rodents, certain vertebrate pests The National Pest Technicians Association is a professional trade association for pest...
.
Keeping the rat population under control was practiced in Europe to prevent the spread of disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
s to man, most notoriously the Black Plague and to prevent damage to food supplies.
Anecdotal reports suggest that some rat-catchers in Europe would raise rats instead of catching them in order to increase their eventual payment from the town or city they were employed by.
Unanswered Questions
