My nonfiction essay "Legally Speaking, Rats Aren't Even Animals" has won the Barry Lopez Nonfiction Prize, which includes a $1,200 purse and publication next summer in Cutthroat, a Journal of the Arts.
The essay recounts my experiences as a first-time rat owner, including my adoption of Vinnie, Gordo and Harry from Small Angels animal rescue and quickly observing their high emotional intelligence and personhood.
Next I outline the history of human/rat relations focusing on famous rat experiments that took place outside Baltimore, near where my rats were born. I use these experiments to explore the impacts of overlooking rats in animal welfare laws.
The title of the essay is a reference to America's Animal Welfare Act of 1966 which defines rats and mice as non-animals.
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