Because of how utterly FAST Alberta was settled. Like, in one summer. 1881. Whites got here before the rats realized what was happening, and were able to set up defences.
Or so the official story goes. I do believe there are rats on the fringes (ie, Hinton), which is to be expected, but there is an honest-to-god Rat Patrol that, by law, has to be called if rats are spotted or even suspected. And pet rats are banned. You can have degu, because they're just short-haired chinchillas, but rats? No way no how. Pet mice? Sure. Tons of mice in the province, and this is why you want a cat ....
That being said, any population of rats existing here would have to be VERY smart and clever to stay out of sight.
This National Post story implies rats didn't infest far enough inland until the 1950s after being introduced from Europe on the East Coast in the 1800s.
The whole idea of a government-sanctioned Rat Patrol of armed men patrolling hundreds of kms of border hunting rats is a weird image I've never heard of before, but seems to be effective.
I'm still skeptical that such a strategy could truly keep a province rat-free, but I also don't have any data to counter the claims.
Well, every time any ARE spotted, the incident makes the regional/provincial news. And usually if there's a photo, it's pretty obvious the poor critters are domesticated rats that some smart-ass likely brought in and let loose. I figure it happens when someone brings pets in from another province, finds out that they can get into trouble, and then let loose because they're just fucking stupid.
That being said, something chewed through one of those big Rubbermaid containers the ex and I had in the trunk of the car when we were up in Hinton, and the only thing that comes to mind that would want to do that is a rat .. there wasn't even any food in it, it was just for raingear and other emergency shit.
Because of how utterly FAST Alberta was settled. Like, in one summer. 1881. Whites got here before the rats realized what was happening, and were able to set up defences.
Or so the official story goes. I do believe there are rats on the fringes (ie, Hinton), which is to be expected, but there is an honest-to-god Rat Patrol that, by law, has to be called if rats are spotted or even suspected. And pet rats are banned. You can have degu, because they're just short-haired chinchillas, but rats? No way no how. Pet mice? Sure. Tons of mice in the province, and this is why you want a cat ....
That being said, any population of rats existing here would have to be VERY smart and clever to stay out of sight.
National Post link
This National Post story implies rats didn't infest far enough inland until the 1950s after being introduced from Europe on the East Coast in the 1800s.
The whole idea of a government-sanctioned Rat Patrol of armed men patrolling hundreds of kms of border hunting rats is a weird image I've never heard of before, but seems to be effective.
I'm still skeptical that such a strategy could truly keep a province rat-free, but I also don't have any data to counter the claims.
Well, every time any ARE spotted, the incident makes the regional/provincial news. And usually if there's a photo, it's pretty obvious the poor critters are domesticated rats that some smart-ass likely brought in and let loose. I figure it happens when someone brings pets in from another province, finds out that they can get into trouble, and then let loose because they're just fucking stupid.
That being said, something chewed through one of those big Rubbermaid containers the ex and I had in the trunk of the car when we were up in Hinton, and the only thing that comes to mind that would want to do that is a rat .. there wasn't even any food in it, it was just for raingear and other emergency shit.