You know, it reminds me of how you have to deal with teenagers who behave criminally. What do you do to teach them a lesson, ignore their bad behavior and think their bad behavior is going to go away? No. That does nothing but ENCOURAGE it.
And what do you do with babies who want to hold their hand to the fire? You tell them NO, fully expecting they won't learn till they're burned.
WELL, THE RATS NEED TO GET BURNED.