A rat-loving chef channelling the hit Disney Ratatouille says he takes his pet rodents out for walks.
John Wolski has six of the animals and regularly lets them accompany him about town.
Like the animated 2007 movie, which features a young rat who dreams of making it big, 46-year-old John is also a whizz in the kitchen.
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And he’s on a mission to teach people that they’re actually “very cute.”
“It’s about 70 per cent like to 30 percent dislike,” John said, when describing the responses he gets from locals in Newquay, Cornwall.
“People don’t like rats a lot of the time because of their tails – they don’t like the bareness.
“But they’re very easy to keep and very good company.
“I’ve had 18 of them in ten years and they’re great.
“They are in cages at home when I’m out but are free roaming when I’m there.
“They have the occasional squabble but that’s normal.
“When I first moved to Newquay I didn’t have any pets and I went to a friend’s house who had an aviary with two rats in.”
John told What’s The Jam “And that’s when I wanted pet rats.
“They’re very cute.”
John said the rodents cost around £10 each to buy and he spends around £30 a month on feed.
His ratty campaign is getting results too, as he recently appeared on ITV’s Chris McCausland Show with one of his pets.
The comedian host even held the rat while chatting to John.
There was a lot of love for John’s pets from the people of Newquay too.
Jack Montgomery said: “The stigma needs to end.
“They are just the same as hamsters but more intelligent and have their own personalities,
“Such clean creatures with a bad reputation for no reason.
“They’re so loving of each other and humans.
“Coming home from work to all them already on top of the cage waiting for cuddles is the best feeling.”
And Kelza Pilkington agreed adding: “They’re excellent little guys.
“I owned rats for about a decade, and had 55 altogether over that time.
“So many people that I knew would be like ‘oh, I don’t like rats’ until they’d actually get a chance to meet them.
“They have the sweet and loving natures of dogs with the cleanliness of cats – I remember having 10 boys all at once in a huge cage and it was endless entertainment watching them with their little social dynamics.”
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