Would you want to share your town with thousands upon thousands of rats?
It’s not hard to imagine communities being upset with the idea – but in Minto, the rodents are being welcomed with open arms.
A young entrepreneur wants to start a rat farm in a building on the edge of Harriston that has sat empty since 2011, when a pork marketing co-op moved out.
“It’s a little concerning because you hear about the rodent first, but once you hear his business plan and what he wants to do, it became real clear,” Minto Mayor George Bridge tells CTV News.
That business plan involves raising enough rats to ship 10,000 each week to pet stores and pet owners in Waterloo Region and beyond – even to the Greater Toronto Area.
Mark Pawley of Waterloo-based Pawley’s Reptiles says it’s a business plan he’s happy to hear.
“There’s really not many people that are breeding them,” he says.
“Snakes have to have something to eat.”
One place that won’t have buyers for the rats is Minto itself, as snakes and reptiles are banned under town bylaws.
Bridge says the rat farm could help boost employment prospects in Minto, as the prospective proprietor has suggested he may need to hire part-time employees to help run the farm.
And what, you may ask, about residents concerned rats will find their way into every corner of town?
“There won’t be any escapees,” says Bridge.
“They’re not here for long – they grow and they leave.”
There is currently no timetable for the farm to open, as the building has yet to be purchased and will require extensive renovations once it is.
