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The fancy rat is a domesticated brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), which is the most common type of pet rat. The name ''fancy rat'' derives from the idea of animal fancy or the phrase "to fancy" (to like, or appreciate).〔 Fancy rats have their origins as the targets for blood sport in 18th- and 19th-century Europe. Specially bred as pets since then, fancy rats now come in a wide variety of colors and coat types and there exists several rat fancier groups worldwide. Fancy rats are commonly sold as pets in stores and by breeders. Domesticated rats are physiologically and psychologically different from their wild relatives, and, when acquired from reputable breeders and shops, they pose no more of a health risk than other common pets. For example, domesticated brown rats are not considered a plague threat, while exposure to wild rat populations could introduce pathogens like ''Salmonella'' into the home.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Merck Veterinary Manual - Generalised Diseases )〕 Fancy rats experience different health risks from their wild counterparts, and thus are less likely to succumb to many of the same illnesses as wild rats. == History == The origin of the modern fancy rat begins with the rat-catchers of the 18th and 19th centuries who trapped rats throughout Europe.〔 These rat-catchers would then either kill the rats, or, more likely, ''sell'' the rats to be used in bloodsport. Rat-baiting was a popular sport until the beginning of the 20th century. It involved filling a pit with several rats and then placing bets on how long it would take a terrier to kill them all. It is believed that both rat-catchers and sportsmen began to keep certain, odd-colored rats during the height of the sport, eventually breeding them and then selling them as pets.〔 The two men thought to have formed the basis of rat fancy are Jack Black, rat-catcher to Queen Victoria, and Jimmy Shaw, manager of one of the largest sporting public houses in London. These two men are responsible for beginning many of the color varieties present today.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】 The History of Fancy Rats )〕 Black, specifically, was known for taming the "prettier" rats of unusual color, decorating them with ribbons, and selling them as pets. It was not uncommon in upper circles of Victorian England to see a lady with her pet rat on a short monkey leash sitting on her lap, grandly festooned with ribbons. Rat fancy as a formal, organised hobby began when a woman named Mary Douglas asked for permission to bring her pet rats to an exhibition of the National Mouse Club at the Aylesbury Town Show in England on October 24, 1901. Her black-and-white hooded rat won "Best in Show" and ignited interest in the area. After Douglas' death in 1921, rat fancy soon began to fall back out of fashion. The original hobby formally lasted from 1912 to 1929 or 1931, as part of the National Mouse and Rat Club, at which point ''Rat'' was dropped from the name, returning it to the original National Mouse Club. The hobby was revived in 1976 with the formation of the English National Fancy Rat Society (NFRS).〔〔 Pet rats are now commonly available in stores and from breeders, and there exist several rat fancier groups worldwide. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fancy rat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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