The National Fancy Rat Society, founded in 1976 is a club for rat fanciers that promotes fancy rats exhibitions, as well as the study and breeding of these rats.
For a number of years pet rats had been appearing at mouse shows in Britain. Publicity in Fur & Feather magazine had increased interest in the fledgling fancy and caused an increase in entries in the rat sections of mouse shows during 1974 and 1975 to the point that after cajoling from the mouse fanciers it was decided to form a club or society purely for rat fanciers.
Thus it was that the National Fancy Rat Society was formed on January 13 1976. The fledgling society staged its first exhibition just over a week later at the 1976 Bradford Championship Show, one of the most presigious small livestock championship shows in the UK. This coincided with the debut of a new variety of fancy rat, the curly-coated Rex. The very first NFRS show was staged at Clymping, West Sussex, in conjunction with the Southern Hamster Club. It wasn't until April 15 1978 that the society staged a show entirely on its own; this show (in Surbiton, Surrey) was the very first all-rats show ever staged. The society has gone from strength to strength ever since.
The society publishes a bi-monthly journal, Pro-Rat-A, and holds many shows throughout the year all over Britain, with membership in the thousands.
