(Government of Alberta)

By Troy Gillard

Alberta celebrates 70 years being “Rat-free”

Dec 18, 2020 | 11:57 AM

This year marks 70 years of Alberta’s Rat Control Program.

Started in 1950, the program ensures Albertans are safe from the environmental and economic destruction rats cause (chewing through crops, food storage, and property) and the diseases they carry with them (like hantavirus).

“We’re famously and proudly ‘rat-free,’ one of the few jurisdictions in the world that can make that claim,” says Devin Dreeshen, Alberta’s minister for agriculture and forestry. “It means we don’t allow rats to establish a permanent population within our borders. If rats are found in Alberta, they are immediately dealt with through proven control methods.”

Dreeshen says maintaining the province’s rat-free status not only involves the hard work and dedication of Agriculture and Forestry’s rat control staff, but also the vigilance of Alberta’s farmers, municipalities, and counties.

“Early on, Alberta established a Rat Control Zone (RCZ) – a 29 km wide swath of land running along our eastern border from Cold Lake in the north to the Montana border in the south,” Dreeshen noted. “The seven municipalities in the zone bear the most responsibility for rat control, and we support them through funding and supplies.”

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In 2019, Alberta’s rat control team launched 230 investigations, finding and eliminating six confirmed infestations – five in the RCZ and one in an urban setting. Nine solo rats were found in urban settings, with the province explaining that these were most likely “hitchhikers” who jumped off a recreation vehicle or transport truck that travelled from outside Alberta.

So far in 2020, the rat control team has conducted 411 Investigations with eight confirmed infestations – three in the RCZ and five in towns or cities. They’ve also found 16 hitchhikers.

Alberta has plenty of rodents often mistaken for rats.

You can visit the province’s rat identification page to determine whether a rodent you’ve spotted is indeed a rat or another rodent that might be commonly mistaken for a rat.