Why is she saying “bang him on the counter” when he is a small living thing?

Question

It says on a dictionary that ‘bang’ means to hit violently or noisily. However, I think the following bang means merely put or place because the object is a rat and because Ron ‘placed him’ after the witch’s words.

But why is she saying “bang” in this situation?

(Ron is talking with the consultant witch of a magical pet shop.)

”It’s my rat,” he told the witch. “He’s been a bit off-color ever since I brought him back from Egypt.”

”Bang him on the counter,” said the witch, pulling a pair of heavy black spectacles out of her pocket.

Ron lifted Scabbers out of his inside pocket and placed him next to the cage of his fellow rats, …(Harry Potter 3 [US Version]: p.58)

Answer 1

To an American, "bang" can only mean to put something somewhere with destructive force. To a Brit, however, "bang" can make to put something somewhere casually, without much effort or attention. I once heard a Englishwoman say she intended to "bang up some wallpaper" (an American would have said "throw" in the same context).

Answer 2

verb /baNG/ 

Strike or put down (something) forcefully and noisily, typically in anger or in order to attract attention

• he began to bang the table with his fist
• Sarah banged the phone down
• someone was banging on the door

However in Britain it just means to put something down (casually as Malvolio suggested).
Typical expression: Just bang it in the corner there

I would like to think, that the author is referring to the Dead parrot sketch from Monty Python

PS: Bung has the same meaning in British slang: Bung it on the table