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

The practise of using ferrets to combat rising rat numbers at Wetherby young offender institution was approved last month. Photograph: Patricia Doyle/Getty Images View image in fullscreen The practise of using ferrets to combat rising rat numbers at Wetherby young offender institution was approved last month. Photograph: Patricia Doyle/Getty Images Therapy ferrets used to kill rats at UK’s largest children’s prison Prison officers’ union calls for immediate end to practice at HMYOI Wetherby over fears for child and animal welfare 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”. Excessive probation workloads put public at risk in England and Wales, union warns Read more The young offenders’ institute, built around decaying 1950s brick buildings, 1990s blocs and repurposed naval huts, can hold up to 288 boys aged 15 to 18, but at present holds about 100. Ferrets are kept as part of a therapeutic programme for traumatised children, Prison Service sources said. View image in fullscreen Wetherby young offender institution. Photograph: Dave Higgens/PA But in mid-May, staff and children complained about dozens of rats running around the grounds and inside prison buildings. A team of officers and children who are allowed to take on maintenance duties, called ‘Q Branch’, were given permission to use ferrets to kill the rats. According to a POA complaint sent to Mark Scott, the institute’s governor, “a rat was cornered and killed within a staff office using domesticated ferrets. This raises significant concerns in relation to animal welfare, health and safety, infection con