A second lease on life for laboratory rats

In April 2022,around 350 rats were housed in EPFL's animal facilities. Alain Herzog, EPFL Dozens of EPFL lab rats will embark on new lives as domestic pets. The initiative, the first of its kind in French-speaking Switzerland, comes under a recently signed rehoming agreement with national animal welfare organization Swiss Animal Protection. Back in the 1980s, very few Swiss households kept rats as pets. But that has changed in recent years. Why? Because these sociable, curious and intelligent creatures make great companions - as long as they're given the time and space they need. With demand for pet rats on the rise, EPFL has teamed up with Swiss Animal Protection (SAP) to allow people to adopt rodents whose time in the lab has come to an end.