Alberta is the Largest Rat-Free Populated Area on Earth

Alberta is actually THE largest rat-free populated area on the planet. How cool is that?! This needs to be known!
Roughly 12 or so rats enter the province per year, and they are quickly killed off by provincial rat control specialists before they’re able to breed.
Alberta, Canada, is the largest rat-free populated area in the world. Rat invasions of Alberta were stopped and eliminated by very aggressive government rat control measures, starting during the 1950s.
[Source]The only species of Rattus that is capable of surviving the climate of Alberta is the brown rat, which can only survive in the prairie region of the province, and even then must overwinter in buildings. Although it is a major agricultural area, Alberta is far from any seaport and only a portion of its eastern boundary with Saskatchewan provides a favorable entry route for rats. Brown rats cannot survive in the wild boreal forest to the north, the Rocky Mountains to the west, nor can they safely cross the semiarid High Plains of Montana to the south. The first brown rat did not reach Alberta until 1950, and in 1951, the province launched a rat-control program that included shooting, poisoning, and gassing rats, and bulldozing, burning down, and blowing up rat-infested buildings. The effort was backed by legislation that required every person and every municipality to destroy and prevent the establishment of designated pests. If they failed, the provincial government could carry out the necessary measures and charge the costs to the landowner or municipality. – WIKIPEDIA
Okay not even going to bother with the animal cruelty perspective, though I do feel this is a callous and terrible rat genocide.
From a scientific perspective, this is irresponsible and unnecessary disruption of the food chain. Yes the food chain adapts but removal of any part does have repercussions and for all we know, this is why we have coyotes eating people’s cats. There aren’t enough rodents and pheasants around. We are playing God and messing around with the natural order. Don’t we do enough to destroy nature? We don’t need to have a government funded rat squad on taxpayer dollars.
How often do people get black plague in other provinces? They have rats. There is literally zero reason for this to be a thing. America has rats too. Most places have rats. They are fine. Why are we murdering innocent woodland creatures? Seriously.
Go watch some videos on YouTube on how destructive rats can be. Seriously you do not want to see rats here. Check out saskatchewans problem with the gopher. Very destructive as well when over populated .
Coyotes eat cats because people allow their cats to roam free. You think if coyotes had rats to eat they’d stop eating cats? Nah. Coyotes will eat whatever small animal they can get their paws on, that’s just nature. They don’t have the ability to think “Well there’s lots of rats so I’ll just let this meal pass me by and assume I’ll catch a rat later.”
There are plenty of other small animals that support the coyote food need, or else coyotes wouldn’t be thriving as much as they are: mice, voles, gophers, rabbits, variety of birds, and all the other small rodents out there.
If you don’t want your cat eaten by a coyote (or injured by a human, run over by a car, poisoned by antifreeze or other substances, etc) then don’t let it roam the neighbourhood.
No sympathy for rats
That’s nice.
Oh man we have sooooo many mice and rabbits. There is no shortage of food for coyotes. Coyotes are opportunist and if your cat gets eaten by one, guess who’s fault that is?
Well I have 2 fox dens in our horse pasture right beside my house, and another in the bush by our front yard.. They’ve never preyed on our animals. Same with coyotes, I see them near my house every other day. But coyotes are scavengers. They look for already dead first, then they’ll go from easiest meal then to farm animals.. They honestly don’t just eat anything
People are so cruel they are smart loving pets 🙁
Yes.. let’s let disease infested vermin run rampant everywhere so that our children can get bit. You are awesome. Thank you for your failed perspective.
In my area, there are loads of coyotes and they’ve eaten small dogs, so…
So that sounds like a coyote problem, Hayley, not a rat problem. Allowing rats in Alberta won’t keep chihuahuas from being killed by coyotes. In fact, it might allow for stronger coyotes in more numbers if there was such a surplus of coyote food supply, and they’d still be killing small dogs and cats that wander into their territory because coyotes don’t care.
Rats are an invasive species. They are not native to North America.
<3 how could anyone hate something so cute & loving <3
Argue all you want it’s still inhumane and literally awful.
MANY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN sASKATCHEWAN EVERY YEAR
I love rats <3
Me too!
:3
Ahem
Lucius
Not when they become rabies infested you won’t
Lol OMG
😉 watch out I’m rabie infected 😉
Actually wild rats were very infected carriers where I grew up. They didn’t go to vets and have home cooked meals lol or come from pet shops.
And they were s helluva lot bigger than pet white rats. Maybe you should read up on this first lol
Yes wild can be. pets no. Nice try my mom tried telling me the same thing haha
I’ve done ton of research on all my pets thanks.
Misty says… “Shut up ehehehe I’m bad” 😉
But I know mom will save me from you horrid people
My rat is a baby so I don’t doubt they are bigger lol DUH
well the rats running around on the prairies on not exactly “pets” my god lol i’ll forgive you cos you’re still very young yourself) enjoy the rats
I actually called the Rat Patrol hotline a couple months ago because i thought my cats brought home a carcass of a rat. The guy called me back (on a late Friday night) to get more info from me. And I still remember the CBC show back from the 60’s that showed the Rat Patrol at work in AB. IF memory serves, the AB government back in the day used to promote farmers with land along the provincial borders to not trap weasels and ermines, they are natural rat hunters.
They killed off this program a few years ago due to government cut backs. Personally I think they would have saved more money dumping a useless official.
I just spoke to someone there on Tuesday so the program is still around!
I think they must have brought it back because I’ve called them and talked with a real human in Calgary. I even sent him pics of the carcass my cats brought home.
I sure hope so, I was floored when they killed the program. And! Good kitty!
We have no rats because garbage men pick up every little inconsiderate amount of trash people put out.
Is that cos they lost the election
Except minor to severe roof rack infestations have been found in multiple locations in Alberta, some near Edmonton. So… There goes those stats
ahhh theres the NDP now speaking of rats
Lol I was Es thinking the same thing!
Hannah Olivia
I still call bs. There could be tons of nests in remote areas, and its not like rats from BC and Saskatchewan stop and go ” OK kids, Alberta border ahead. Time to turn around”.
Also this doesn’t even include the species of rat that is native to alberta
But have you ever seen one here? I haven’t. That’s because there is rat patrol. If there were colonies even in our remote areas, believe me they would be around in abundance. They breed very very fast.
Not only do they breed fast, but they just aren’t in disclosed remote areas, they need people’s garbage to survive nowadays. They aren’t like mice
Sarah have you seen rats in SK? Are they pretty common there?
Somewhat! Every since a building got demolished swift current was completely overrun. There was some control and its calmed down a lot now but they’re still here. My dad sees them in bales whenever he moves them
http://globalnews.ca/news/2282441/more-than-a-dozen-rats-found-on-rural-alberta-property/
This was in October. They’ve been killed since, but there are likely many more situations like this in Alberta
I have seen rats in Edmonton. The U of a campus has some
Okay, aside from politicians, we have no rats…
Okay, aside from politicians, we have no rats…
Okay, aside from politicians, we have no rats…
Okay, aside from politicians, we have no rats…
Okay, aside from politicians, we have no rats…
Okay, aside from politicians, we have no rats…
Okay, aside from politicians, we have no rats…
Plus .. She’s a female 😉 I’m in bc though we don’t have stupid bans on rats here.
Bonnie Doon pet store has these.
Those are legal. They’re called asf. African soft furred rats. 100% legal and highly additive to snakes 🙂
Many people also breed these as they are highly intelligent pets. They are slightly larger than a hamster full-grown but can be trained like many other rats and are quite friendly when they aren’t bred for food
Yeah, my poor mom was attacked by a rat in Europe as a child so she has the worst phobia of rats!! When she saw these guys she just about died, poor old gal. But I called the rat patrol on her behalf, just to appease her, so she could sleep that night :/
Well all of you with pet rats and in alberta expect a visit soon!
No one in Alberta has a pet rat. The fine is up to $5,000 per rat. My photo was taken in California. Don’t utter threats unless you know the whole story
Lol oh you shut your mouth. You don’t know where I live we don’t have a pointless ban on them where I live 😉 mistys like “oh shizz shit just got real” ;P
Not hard to find out ur in Dawson Creek… js
Just keep ur rats over there and wer cool lol
Lol well there u go you found it on your own bravo! If my rat out she could probably make it to Alberta lol she’s my baby though I wouldn’t let her get out<3
You just found out?
Saw one last weekend in a field near Boyle. It was huge!
Lots of the time muskrats are mistaken for rats.
Saw one in bonnyville last year. Took a picture of it.
I knew it wasn’t a muskrat because it’s tail was round.
Maybe a gopher ??
Maybe a gopher ??
Maybe a gopher ??
Maybe a gopher ??
Nope, gophers tails are furry
Nope, gophers tails are furry
Nope, gophers tails are furry
Nope, gophers tails are furry
We still have Conservatives. Will the rat patrol finally get rid of them?
Stupidest thing I have ever heard…. we have rats people…
No we don’t. We have muskrats.
I seen a rat right by my house this spring
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3441
It’s the Norway rat that they are talking about.
Ur not supposed to b on ur phone!! Or Facebook. U made a contract
Rats are disgusting, carry diseases and shouldn’t be considered as pets. Ever watch the show ‘Billy The Exterminator’. Be gone rats….
Vancouver probably has one of the highest rat infestations.
So sad. They are smart animals that don’t deserve to be killed.
cause even the rats know not to live there in that dump.
Hell, why didn’t you tell us? We would have come up sooner!
I’m sorry but what I just read classifies as animal Cruelty I lived here for years and my pet rat Nessie only died last year from old age I had her since I was kid. Making an animal illegal is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard
Normand Boulet
There was tons of Rats they all left when the NDP moved in….
MaryAnn McGinnity
no if we could do the same with corrupt politicians that would be great !!
Greenland looks bigger than Alberta
“…largest rat-free populated area” 🙂
Greenland is a rat free area according to the map
U forgot NDP its worst
we have tons of wild rats all over canada – and even in calgary recently they ended up being norweigan rats that were found and exterminated. yep – pet shops selling these things, and ppl dumping them when they decided they didnt want them. a pair of rats can take over calgary in a couple of years. we used to literally put out buckets of poison for wild rats the size of smaller gophers. these are NOT what you want dogs etc chasing when they become infected – and they do. and they carry
Now to work on the two legged kind 😉 *hehe*
Don’t need any more rats here!
Especially since we voted out the conservatives (ba dum Ching!)
Sorry to post this. Lol. Two weeks ago by the new Walmart on 127street by the Anthony Henday. It was so funny cause this rat was crossing the street. The traffic on both sides stopped to let it cross. It was HUGE.
again, REPORT IT
Again? I’m sorry…..I didn’t know that I was supposed to report it.
Well if you don’t count all the pack rats in the Crowsnest Pass…..
Bullshit !!! I seen a few rats just this September on a rig road by valleyview, they are definitely breeding and it was about the size of my hand
Did you call the rat patrol??
duty bound as an Albertan to report an infestation
It’s not rat free. I’ve come across a couple dead rats when I worked at a show stable.
Now we just have to figure out how to get rid of the politicians and we’re good!
I have never actually seen a live rat. I am 33. I am Albertan.
So that’s how you control conservatives!!!!!
We got bunnies instead
It sucks. I want a pet rat so badly 🙁
No rats even as a pet are allowed in alberta!
It’s a 5000 dollar fine if your caught with a rat as a pet and there is no such thing as having a permit to have one as people have and will rat out their neighbors who have them. The hotline is 310-RATS and is open 24/7 and most calls are responded to within 24 hours regardless if it’s the weekend or not http://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/2015/01/27/new-hotline-for-reporting-rats/
So there are 11 more somewhere. Hmm.. Haha
I’m like half,asleep…. Huh? Lol
“Roughly 12 or so rats enter the province”…
I want one
So I highly doubt their is only 12 lol
I don’t get why you can’t have sterilized rats as pets here. What’s the harm if they can’t breed?
Rats are an exotic breed, and if alberta has that rat shit going on I could see not being able to have them in the province. Sterilized is different I would think
It’s because people lie and alberta refuses to take the chance so sterilized or not it’s still a 5000 fine to have one plus they will take the rat and ether have it relocated out of province at the owners expense or have it put down.
Maybe you guys should actually do your flipping research You are aloud to own if you have a permit . Do you even no what a permit is ? LOL
Maybe you should learn how to spell ….
Lol does my spelling really matter to you?
It shouldn’t so kindly shut your mouth 🙂
Maybe you should learn how to not be a bitch 🙂
*eats popcorn*
Misty says “shut up Laurie my mom protects me from you horrid people so what does her spelling matter to you” :p
Nicole , put the popcorn away, I honestly can’t have a rational conversation with anyone that isn’t educated enough to spell “allowed” or know the difference between know and no. Or maybe it’s someone in grade 3 ….
Lol blah blah blah who cares. Kiss my butt lady.
“Kiss it she said” :*
Sorry but I’m not really one to care what others think about me or my spelling.. 🙂
She’s adorable! Where do you live!?!
I would absolutely love to own one but knowing our laws and the consequences of your rat being found seems irresponsible to me.
If you get a permit in Alberta you can own rats.
Lol this was taking in California. I was lucky enough to meet an amazing woman and her partner who let me into their home and to play with their rats :3
Rats are friendly, easily trained, and intelligent. I don’t understand how they’re able to ban them as pets :-/
Rats are amazing animals. I miss having them in my home as companion animals. This is actually just sad.
I’d have one as a pet if i could. They are awesome and smart.
I love rats 🙁 wish I could have one. Stupid Alberta. 🙁
Go live literally anywhere else in the world then..
I’ll live where ever the fuck I please thanks!
Then don’t complain you can’t have a rat.
Lol people are so stupid. I’m not going to move so I can have a rat? Are you fucking retarded?