Maybe it's a conceptual art piece?
Terminix has released this statement:
"At Terminix, we keep our eyes on all things pest-related. When we heard about this ratty trend making its way back into pop culture from the '80s, we wanted to treat it like we do actual rats - by stopping it in its tracks."
And then later:
"Just like we refuse to let rats plague homes, we refuse to let this emerging trend of rat tails plague our society. It must be stopped! Shia LaBeouf appears to be the leader of this movement, and we are making him the following offer: Remove your rat tail, and the charity of your choice gets $10,000. http://ow.ly/K1FAe"
Anyone want to join me in starting a crowd funding project to support this?