A chubby rat got stuck while trying to squeeze itself out of a manhole in Germany was rescued.
Firefighters responded quickly after a female rodent was spotted in distress in a manhole in Hochdorf Assenheim, 96 kilometers away from Frankfurt, Germany.
Animal rescuer Michael Sehr told local media the rat “had a lot of winter flab and was stuck fast at her hip and there was no going forward or back”. He added that even animals “that are hated by many deserve respect”.
Michael Sehr who spotted the rat first could not rescue the rat alone from the manhole cover, he waited for the firefighters to arrive.
After the rescue, and a few photographs, the rat was released straight back into the sewer.
People took to social media to ask why taxpayers money was used to rescue a rat, and felt it was a wasteful expenditure.
Andreas Steinbach of an animal rescue group told Sky News that, “What we find completely unacceptable is the hatred of a small creature and the comments on the killing of the animal. Everyone may have their opinion on it, but on our side we do not tolerate any despicable calls for killing an animal.”
Some users on Facebook wrote, “Thank you for rescuing her! Bad how vicious people are. Every living creature is worth saving. Rats get such a bad reputation just because they happen to be tough survivors living next to us, but in reality they are highly intelligent, empathetic and loving even towards people if given the chance to trust us!”