Whiskers and Wire Cages- Rat Coursing

The rat catcher’s trade provides him with a surplus of live rats. Fortunately, Victorian blood sports, such as rat bating, required a never-ending supply of prey animals few would miss or pity.  The other sport which has made a commodity of captured rats is coursing.

Coursing tests the competing dogs’ raw speed, agility, and ability to catch animals on the run. Because Victorian cities lack privacy and open ground, coursing matches exclusively occur in the country.  To ensure the fleeing animal cannot hide, the dogs all have an equal chance to win, and the spectators can see every moment of sport, coursing contests are held in open terrain with no cover such as a meadow or field.

At the beginning, the sporting gentlemen select two dogs to compete, then the spectators place bets on whether or not the dogs catch the animal, how long the chase lasts, or which dog catches the animal. Then the officials release the “prey” to be pursued onto open ground before loosing the already eager dogs after an agreed up lead time for the animal. Favored dogs might be handicapped by waiting a few extra seconds before their release. The dogs vigorously pursue their quarry until it escapes or the dogs either catch or kill the animal dependent on the stakes. In the case of a tie, the officials decide a winner.

Coursing requires dogs with keen eyesight, tremendous endurance, and most importantly speed. Purebred greyhounds earn the most attention at coursing contests for the upper crust and dependable lurchers (a crossbreed of sighthounds often kept by poachers) are competitive coursers at lower class events. The prey animals used for coursing could be rabbits, foxes, deer or most commonly rats.

Rat catchers hold a position of honor at coursing weekends in the country. As the supplier of the all-important rats, catchers are amply compensated for their time and the death of their rats by money, good food, spirits, and a stay in a fine hotel away from the city. Additionally, if his rats are bought by an aristocratic coursing club, the rat catcher has the company of a better class of gentlemen and upwardly mobile social contacts which could lead to work in the future. Occasionally, the sporting gentlemen even want to take part in procuring their rats as well. They hire the rat-catcher to lead them and their dogs on rat hunts along streams and fields in the morning before an afternoon of coursing. Well-organized rat-catchers could sell about 100 to 150 rats a week in the country to face death in rat-coursing. The rats must, of course, be in good health and able to run.

Having no stake in what dog wins, rat-catchers often serve as a judge in case the winner at coursing is not immediately clear. This can be a dangerous position for the rat-catcher. Coursing draws large crowds, especially in coal villages, and in a crowd of 500 working men wagering their earnings on a rat coursing match, not everyone will agree with the rat-catchers rulings.

Adventure Ideas

Between the dogs, the rats, the terrain, and the officials, there are a lot of pieces to a fair and just rat coursing. Any number of factors could be juggled or shoved into place to ensure a risky wager becomes a “sure thing”.

After a few months of examining two of the grimmest and dirtiest of Victorian jobs, it’s time for the hope and joy of a Dickensian Christmas! Next week, is the beginning of our annual holiday tradition ghost Stories for Christmas!