First a reality check. All of your pet rats came from breeding, accidental or otherwise. If you can prove yours poofed into existence or appeared out of thin air I'd be happy to hear about it.
If I knew this was some elitist forum I would never have wasted my time registering here. I guess only people who have their pets through rescues are welcome and people who bought their pets aren't worth crap. I came for advice just like any other but..whatever.
The rat pregnancies were accidental.
Fine, sorry I wasted my time here. Animals eat other animals and you can't change that. Don't bother replying as I won't see any of it.
Well, I'm going to reply anyway. I don't really care if you don't see it. First off, there is no need to get so dramatic and defensive. This site is one the most welcoming rat forums and least elitist places that I've seen. Not one single person said anything that could be deemed as a personal attack towards you. You are the only person talking about adopting vs buying.
Most people are pro-rescue in this day in age because we as a society are far more educated on the domestic animal overpopulation problem.
Each year 2.7 MILLION animals are euthanized. That is just dogs and cats by the way.
Even though I strive to rescue/adopt and recommend others do the same, I do not condemn people for buying animals and I know I'm not the only one who doesn't. We are only human. Sometimes someone might see a rat in the store that pulls at their heart and they just can't leave it. Someone might want a specific type of rat and go to a reputable breeder. People providing a good home is far more important to me at the end of the day.
Since the rat pregnancies were accidental you have even less reason to be so defensive.
Yes, animals do eat other animals. That is irrelevant though. This is a
pet rat forum. It's pretty easy to see why the topic of breeding them for food is not allowed and frowned upon.
Also, just let point out that I'm pretty poor. I live on a fixed income from social security right now. Most of the money I get goes to making sure my rescued animals have the best life I can provide. They live better than I do. I just spent $225 on two new rescues. Almost half of the money I received this month because I got less than usual. I have savings and care credit should someone need to see a vet and I don't have the funds. I guess what I'm trying to say is, where there is a will there is a way. You don't have to be well off to have pets, but you do need to plan ahead and be willing to make sacrifices. There is really no excuse for denying vet care.
There was no reason for you to go. This forum is great for talking about ratties and has a lot of helpful information. There was no elitism in the responses and everyone was being very civil towards you. It's really a shame that you couldn't get past your defensive attitude and see that.