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Original poster

A 'what would you do?' situation (content warning - animal cruelty)

47 replies

JMSA · 09/07/2023 19:59

My sister, while she was a student, had a waitressing job at a fancy golf club. One day she was in the kitchen with the chef, when a mother rat and her babies crossed the kitchen towards the restaurant. They'd had the door open in the kitchen because of the heat, and I think they'd come in from outdoors. Quick as a flash, the chef grabbed a pot of boiling water and chucked it over them. Sad
Even though this happened years ago, my sister hasn't forgotten it and it came up when we were chatting the other night about past memories.
I KNOW that I would have frozen on the spot and brought the whole place into disrepute Blush
What would you have done in this situation?

OP posts:
ShirleyPhallus · 09/07/2023 20:01

I’d have offered the rat a job in the kitchen, a la Ratatouille

mnahmnah · 09/07/2023 20:02

I would have thrown an empty pot over them, scooped and returned to the wild, far away

NuffSaidSam · 09/07/2023 20:05

I'd have screamed and run around like a headless chicken. I don't think rat removal is my forte.

Justcallmebebes · 09/07/2023 20:08

Loathe rats with a passion but pouring boiling water over a mother and her babies is awful but I get they have to go, so how do you accomplish this with minimal cruelty? No clue

Diddykong · 09/07/2023 20:10

Ha! Came in from outside. They were returning after a jaunt outside to feast themselves again. I would have assumed that mummy rat has sisters and brothers and nephews and nieces so I would have called pest control and demanded the kitchen close to do a thorough clean and tighten up on how they store waste.

Pocketfullofdogtreats · 09/07/2023 20:12

I would've stood frozen to the spot - not very helpful! But the boiling water thing is unnecessarily cruel. They're just animals, and they thrive where there's food and shelter.

Original poster
JMSA · 09/07/2023 20:15

I couldn't have done the boiling water thing. Not even with the pot already in my hands.

OP posts:
Original poster
JMSA · 09/07/2023 20:15

ShirleyPhallus · 09/07/2023 20:01

I’d have offered the rat a job in the kitchen, a la Ratatouille

Grin
OP posts:
VeterinaryCareAssistant · 09/07/2023 20:16

It's like the bit in The Green Mile where that horrid prison warden stamps on the mouse.

dressornot · 09/07/2023 20:16

That’s awful :(

DamaskRosie · 09/07/2023 20:18

Poor rats, how awful.

I hope I'd have shut the restaurant and given everyone their money back then got the problem dealt with professionally.

CC4712 · 09/07/2023 20:20

I would have jumped at seeing the rats scurry in the 1st place, and then jumped at a pot of boiling water being splashed on the floor- and potentially splashing my legs/feet!

I would then not take any leftovers home, not recommend the restaurant to friends/family and look for another job.

Original poster
JMSA · 09/07/2023 20:25

If I remember correctly, this chef was a hothead and a grump. He wouldn't have lost sleep over it.

OP posts:
Sewingdufus · 09/07/2023 20:27

Screamed and then left the building never to return again. No joking, I am rodent-phobic.

Sunnydaysarentagiveneveninjuly · 09/07/2023 20:28

Not sure I could have worked alongside someone who could do that to an animal..

Lesina · 09/07/2023 20:29

The chef was a cunt. Simple as.

Ladyoftheknight · 09/07/2023 20:31

Rodents bringing disease into kitchens isn't okay, much like badgers on farms! Unfortunately they can't be left to wander around or gently placed in a flower bed

clpsmum · 09/07/2023 20:34

mnahmnah · 09/07/2023 20:02

I would have thrown an empty pot over them, scooped and returned to the wild, far away

I'd have done the same

EvilElsa · 09/07/2023 20:36

That's absolutely awful. I'd have lost my shit and quit on the spot. That's cruel beyond belief, a painful long death. No animal deserves that, even those deemed a "pest".

Jongleterre · 09/07/2023 20:36

I would have tried to shoo them out but if the chef had thrown the boiling water before I could do anything I would smashed a frying pan around his face and left.

Pigstrotter · 09/07/2023 20:38

I once attempted to catch a mouse with a flowerpot, neither of us were quick enough.

I’d’ve hit the rats with a saucepan.

mondaytosunday · 09/07/2023 20:40

I would have exited kitchen post-haste!

Prescottdanni123 · 09/07/2023 21:10

That was unnecessarily cruel. I would have done what another PP says and caught them in a pot or something and released then far from the restaurant

Missingmyusername · 09/07/2023 21:12

Lesina · 09/07/2023 20:29

The chef was a cunt. Simple as.

^ I concur.

ShirleyPhallus · 09/07/2023 21:17

Sunnydaysarentagiveneveninjuly · 09/07/2023 20:28

Not sure I could have worked alongside someone who could do that to an animal..

Ummm…. Do you know what chefs do….?

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