Mouse racing is an activity in which live

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

s are coaxed to travel through a miniature racecourse at fast speeds. The races generally take place at

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

s, or fund-raising events and are popular in several countries. Mouse racing has also attracted criticism from

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

groups, who believe the activity is too stressful for the mice.

Variations

There are several different types of mouse races. Some races use elaborate sets built to resemble a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

track, while others are more like

obstacle course An obstacle course is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual, team or animal must navigate, usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling, swimming, and balancing elements with th ...

s, with wheels and other challenges. In 1940s

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, mice were sometimes made to propel miniature boats by running on

treadmill A treadmill is a device generally used for walking, running, or climbing while staying in the same place. Treadmills were introduced before the development of powered machines to harness the power of animals or humans to do work, often a type of ...

s, which were connected to the boat's paddle-wheels."Mouse Racing". ''Time''. 23 September 1946. In many contemporary races, an individual mouse trainer organizes the event using his own animals and invites spectators to make bets, with the proceeds often going to some specific cause. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, one of the most well-known charity-race organizers was Harvey Coffee. He organized events throughout the American Midwest and was mentioned in the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...

''. The famous World War II movie, Stalag 17, features a scene with mouse racing in a barracks. More competitive versions of the activity have existed; for example, a

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Mouse Racing Association was founded in 1972 to organize competitions among mouse owners, who trained their pets to break speed records. Australia continues to hold a national Mouse Cup in rural

Bylong Bylong is a village in New South Wales, Australia, in the Mid-Western Regional Council. It is located on the Bylong Valley Way. The area is home to numerous horse studs. The champion racehorse and sire Heroic was born in the area. Bylong host ...

, which attracts about 800 participants.Scala, Mark. "Rats in ranks at Mouse Cup". ''The Daily Telegraph''. 21 March 2003. South Walesp. 25.

Rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

s are explicitly banned at the more competitive mouse races.

Criticism

Mouse racing has received criticism from animal rights groups since the 1940s, when the RSPCA condemned the English aquatic races. They declared, "Anyone who knows about boys will know that ..the mice will be prodded unmercifully to ginger them up". An advocate of the activity replied in defense, "No cruelty is imposed on the creature since experience shows that mice derive much enjoyment from their wheel turning activity". More recently, animal rights societies in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

criticized mouse races at local taverns, noting that the often-loud audiences could frighten the mice with their cheering. However, one race manager replied, "If they can't take a joke in the world, then what's wrong with them?".

Notes

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External links

Picture of Harvey Coffee
prominent American mouse-racer Rodents and humans Animal racing