Therapy ferrets used to kill rats at UK’s largest children’s prison

Pet ferrets kept as therapy animals at the UK’s largest children’s prison have been co-opted by managers to kill rats, resulting in a bloody incident and concerns over child and animal welfare. The unorthodox method of vermin control was waved through last month at HMYOI Wetherby in West Yorkshire following a surge in rat numbers in prison offices and grounds. According to a union complaint seen by the Guardian, the decision resulted in a boy who looks after ferrets witnessing an “inappropriate and potentially distressing” savaging of a screaming rat. Another complaint suggests the gored rodent was then “stomped to death” by a senior staff member in front of prison officers. The incident once again highlights the vermin-ridden conditions in which children and adults are detained within the prison estate across England and Wales. Mark Fairhurst, the national chair of the Prison Officers Association (POA) , called for a reversal of the policy, claiming that the incident happened because private contractors are failing to keep prisons vermin-free. “This is an unacceptable working practice and should be abolished immediately. This once again proves that the unfit for purpose outsourced maintenance contract needs to be abandoned and brought back in house,” he said. Animal assisted therapy was introduced more than a decade ago at Wetherby, a former borstal which has served “as a national resource for the most vulnerable children in prison”. …