I always tell people we eat rats here to varying responses including one of disbelief and disgust. However these are not Bangkok Rats, er, city rats, rather they live in the unpolluted rice fields.
My wife’s brother makes bamboo traps by hand for catching these rats. The traps are simple in design but very effective. They are spring loaded by a string which bends the long part of the trap into the shape of a bow when the trap is loaded. A small stick fits in between part of the trap and when triggered the bow is released sending a horizontal stick down at an angle.
We find holes in the burms of the sides of the rice fields and look for holes which may lead to the rats den. WE also look for recent activity indicating the den is actively used, such as scratch marks and or recent plant material.
Then we setup the traps in front of the holes and come back in the morning. If we are succesful we have several dead rats in the traps and out comes the concrete BBQ pit! Here is a photo of one of the traps:
10 years ago when I was in Thailand … I ate skewers of meat, I do not know exactly what it was … ^ _ ^’
“I wonder if this trap could be used for city rats that are problem-some for some people”
I used to raise rats for feeders many years ago as well as kept a few for pets, they are so easy to tame, I even had a roof-rat also known as a ship rat, he live up to 5 years and is much bigger than that of the normal Norway rats.
People do what they have to do to survived on whatever they had learn to eat and then of course it then turns into a tradition such a eating budgies, grub worms and even rattle snakes. I never try any of them and more and likely I won’t either unless I am starving and trying to survive.
Found this to be an interesting post though, learn something new all of the time.
Yes, there is always the “mystery” meat aspect of buying from road side vendors!