Rat-catcher
（重定向自Ratcatcher）
![Jack Black, rat-catcher, 1851](/Images/godic/202502/06/Jack_Black0622.jpg")
![Professional rat-catchers behind a pile of dead rats, during the outbreak of bubonic plague in Sydney in 1900](/Images/godic/202502/06/Professional_ratcatchers_Sydney_1900_Degotardi_a1472640622.jpg")
![](/Images/godic/202502/06/Pied_piper0622.jpg")
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A rat-catcher is person who practices rat-catching, the occupation of catching rats as a form of pest control. In developed countries the role may be merged with, or the title inflated to, pest control operative or pest technician.
Keeping the rat population under control was practiced in Europe to prevent the spread of diseases to man, most notoriously the Black Plague, and to prevent damage to food supplies.