User:Major Bonkers/Rat-eating in the Royal Navy

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/27/ncook27.xml

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/09/28/nosplit/dt2801.xml#head8

William Sidney Smith

Sir Sidney, among many peculiar eccentricities, asserted that rats fed cleaner, and were better eating, than pigs or ducks; and, agreeably to his wish, a dish of these beautiful vermin were caught daily with fish-hooks, well baited, in the provision hold, for the ship was infested with them, and served up at the captain's table; the sight of them alone took off the keen edge of my appetite.

Adkins asserts that ''[...] it was not uncommon for seamen to cook and eat rats to supplement their rations: what was unusual was serving them at the captain's table.

34.59639°N, 71.93111°W

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