"Though more studies are needed on the rats’ motivations..." in other words "We want to find more ways to meddle with animals."
There's not a whole lot of empathy at the facilities that raise the rats to sell, speaking as a person who took a job at one expecting to find happy, well cared for animals and prove the animal rights activists wrong.
When I worked in an office no one knew the janitors by name. I'm not even sure if they registered as people to some of my co-workers. If I wanted to cause some trouble in an office I wouldn't bother with printers- I'd put on a blue shirt and grab a mop.
There's not a whole lot of empathy at the facilities that raise the rats to sell, speaking as a person who took a job at one expecting to find happy, well cared for animals and prove the animal rights activists wrong.