Utah Rat Eater Has Animal Cruelty Charge Dismissed (VIDEO)

SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah man who is no longer facing charges for eating a live baby rat says the act was grotesque, but shouldn't be considered as animal cruelty.

Prosecutors charged Andy Ray Harris with animal cruelty in April, after authorities viewed a posted Facebook video of him eating what appeared to be the baby rat. The 31-year-old Tooele man says he ate the rat on a dare.

The 45-second video clip showed the hairless rat struggling on a sheet of paper until Harris picks it up and pops it into his mouth while a crowd cheered for him, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

Prosecutors argued the baby rat deserved protections because it wasn't wild and it was killed in a way that is not an accepted fashion.

Harris says it was not animal cruelty because the rat was going to be eaten by a snake. He also says rats don't have legal protections because they are pests.

Last week, the judge dismissed the misdemeanor charges against Harris, The Tribune says.

WATCH THE CONTROVERSIAL VIDEO. WARNING IT'S GRAPHIC:

Comments

[dave hadit]

02:59 AM on 10/09/2011

yeah, except that we never actually see the rat anywhere close to his mouth. the description claims there is a squirming baby, but his hand disappears from the camera and reappears over his mouth, covering it all up. i'm not even convinced this is anything but 2 fools, a camera, and a whole bunch of nothing.

[ROBBOB00]

02:09 PM on 10/08/2011

So Ladies let me ask you would kiss that mouth? I think not!!!!!!

[Wendy Stewart]

12:23 PM on 10/08/2011

That is beyond cruel. What a sick individual.

[yovinny100]

10:33 PM on 10/05/2011

My son occasionally used to feed 'pinkies' to his tarantula. They are sold at pet stores for that purpose and nobody complains about that being cruel.

If he had killed and barbecued the rat before eating it a la Dual Survival's Cody Lundin, would that have been okay?

Folks, it's a friggin' rat. They aren't endangered by a long shot. I'd slap him in the head for being a little stupid, but does he need to be arrested, no.

[ROBBOB00]

02:05 PM on 10/08/2011

You are an idiot.

[James Wilson Perry]

03:20 PM on 10/16/2011

That's because you yanks have a culture of cruelty when it comes to feeding animals in captivity. Instead of humanely killing the animal prior to feeding so it doesn't have to go through all that nonsense, you chuck it in alive. For what reason, I do not know. Because it's natural? No, a glass enclosure is not natural. Because you enjoy it? Probably so. You'd better hope that the first alien species we come into contact with aren't rat-like, because when they see this kind of thing, they'll have no hesitation feeding people like you and your son to the many exotic pets they have. Live.

[Kay Nicks]

12:10 PM on 10/05/2011

Ooops. You 'Can't' fix stup!d!

[Kay Nicks]

12:08 PM on 10/05/2011

Sad. You can't fix stup!d.....not even with duct tape..

[booker52]

09:19 AM on 10/05/2011

Stupid and cruel

[tptm]

06:39 AM on 10/05/2011

Thats nothing, if he chugged it down witha glass of sour milk I would be impressed

[Jan Studyvin]

04:19 AM on 10/05/2011

Rats may be pests in some places but so are wild cats and dogs. So is it okay to eat kittens and puppies? Harris is a total pig. And so is the judge that dismissed the charges of cruelty to animals.

[bra5611]

03:12 AM on 10/05/2011

it might not be illegal but this is just wrong in too many ways to list...

[rlcorny]

03:23 AM on 10/05/2011

Let's see the list!

[thedoc64]

01:19 AM on 10/05/2011

They really do taste good though, with a little tobasco, whenever I'm in tailand I have live squid, but in the US I have to settle for baby rats (because they are hairless), and I guarantee 9 out of 10 of you would love 'em if you tried it.

[havok563]

12:28 AM on 10/05/2011

That's one down and innumerable amounts left.

[MoreBlaseThanMost]

11:51 PM on 10/04/2011

WTF is wrong with people?

[alviesf]

11:11 PM on 10/04/2011

I ate the rat! So...you guys think I'm cool now, right? Guys?

[Gas-Bag]

12:16 AM on 10/05/2011

Nailed it, best comment on the story.

[mrbyaninch]

09:51 PM on 10/04/2011

Animal cruelty?! OMG, has America gone that far in the hole!

[Roan Badger]

10:54 PM on 10/04/2011

Yes it has. And is only to get worse as they brainwash the little children from school age on up.

Even seen where one child catches the roaches in his house and walks a half mile to the woods to turn it loose. Wonder how many other bugs he kills on his walk to save a roach.

Not only weird but scary.

[yovinny100]

10:38 PM on 10/05/2011

Never, ever saw anyone taking a roach for a walk. Big shoe...... whack. Some paper towels, a little 409 and.... what roach?

[James Wilson Perry]

03:06 PM on 10/16/2011

Yeah, because compassion towards other living things is scary and brainwashing, hey? I sure hope as hell you don't have a position of influence and power.

A rat pretty much has a similar biology to our own. What it can feel, we can feel, a dog can feel, etc. Maybe you stupid rednecks are brainwashed into thinking not to give any respect to animals, and seeing it OK to cruelly treat one.

[James Wilson Perry]

03:06 PM on 10/16/2011

With attitudes like yours, yeah, it has. If this person had done it in the UK or Aus, he'd get a conviction and punished appropriately.