Alberta celebrates 75 years of being rat free
Officials have been diligent for the last 75 years, keeping wild rose country free of rats.
'Rats are a worldwide menace that destroy property and spread disease,' said RJ Sigurdson, minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, in a statement Wednesday. 'For three quarters of a century, Alberta has proudly been one of the few jurisdictions on Earth to live without the pest.'
RATS
Alberta Department of Public Health rat poster from 1946. (Provincial Archives of Alberta)
Karen Wickerson, the province's rat and pest specialist, said the program essentially runs the same way it did when it started in 1950.
'When the program started, rats were declared an agricultural pest in Alberta,' said Wickerson. 'That means every Albertan is required to control them if they have them on their property.
Under the Agricultural Pest Act, municipalities are also required to ensure rats are controlled and eradicated.
RATS
Mr. Brown, Provincial Entomologist Office, Rat Patrol. (Provincial Archive of Alberta)
It is also illegal to own a pet rat under the act.
When Wickerson gets a report of a rat, she will contact the local municipality which has a designated pest control officer. The officer will investigate further, setting up trail cameras.
'As far as technology, there have been great strides in monitoring rats,' said Wickerson.
Historically, the province has been mainly concerned with rats at the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, but these days, there has been an increase of rats hitching rides on vehicles from our neighbours to the east as well as in southern B.C.
RATS
"Rats Are Coming" poster from 1950. (Provincial Archives of Alberta)
Last year, Wickerson and her assistant saw 600 rat reports, of which only five per cent were confirmed.
'Muskrats and mice are kind of tied for number one misidentified critter in Alberta for a rat,' said Wickerson, adding there are a few other species that are also mistaken for rats.
Wickerson said she has talked to people from around the world who are fascinated with the province's rat control program.
'It's great to be part of a program that people are so proud of.'
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Mariam Valdes-Carletti.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
16 minutes ago
- CBC
CBC's Heather Hiscox speaks to Jon Allen about the latest on the special cabinet meeting today.
Get the latest on the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis.
CTV News
22 minutes ago
- CTV News
Wheatley library to reopen after gas leak scare
Monitoring continues at the Wheatley library where residents could smell gas. The site seen in Wheatley, Ont. on July 2, 2025. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor) The Wheatley Library in Chatham-Kent will officially reopen this weekend. The branch on 35 Talbot St. west has been closed since early July after a strong odour was detected in the area and a well was discovered. This came just days after a hydrogen sulphide gas leak was reported behind the library at the end of June. At no time was gas detected inside the library. The branch will reopen on Saturday and will resume regular hours moving forward. The building was closed to the public out of caution for staff and the public due to its proximity to the well. Chatham-Kent officials said active monitors around the well will remain for at least the next two weeks, meaning parking behind the library will be closed during this time. The site will be added to the monthly soil gas surveys going forward. Summer reading programming will also continue at the Wheatley Branch. Hydrogen sulfide is the same gas responsible for an explosion that occurred in August 2021 where two buildings were destroyed and several others were damaged. Multiple people were injured following the explosion.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
There is now a new three-digit number you can dial to reach the Toronto police non-emergency line
A Toronto police officer's uniform is seen during a press conference in Toronto on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston You can now dial a three-digit number to reach the Toronto police non-emergency line as the service continues its efforts to crack down on unnecessary 911 calls. As of today, wireless customers on the networks of Rogers, Bell, TELUS, Freedom Mobile and their subsidiaries will be able to dial 877 to reach the Toronto Police Service's non-emergency line. However, it should be noted that the number can not be dialed from traditional landlines at this time. The TPS says that anyone calling from a landline should continue to dial (416) 808-2222 to reach its non-emergency line. 'Toronto Police Service thanks our wireless partners for their support in making this important change possible, to help improve accessibility and public safety across the city,' a news release notes. The launch of the new three digit non-emergency number fulfills one of the recommendations that was made in a 2022 report by Toronto's Auditor General examining 911 call wait times. That report found that 57 per cent of all calls to 911 were not for emergency assistance. The report also revealed that there were more than 13,000 calls in 2021 in which the wait time to speak with an operator exceeded a minute. The TPS says that its communication centre receives nearly two million calls annually.
