Crash Course on Rat-berta

CBC Podcasts | Posted: March 30, 2023 8:00 AM | Last Updated: March 30, 2023

How did a landlocked province eliminate all its rats? And why?

Image | USA-WEATHER/

Caption: A rat runs across a slick sidewalk in Manhattan, New York — a sight you would probably not see in Alberta. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

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Is it true that Alberta is a rat-free province? Is there really a Rat Patrol? We find out the truth behind the province's rat hating reputation.

Image | Rat awareness poster

Caption: Poster released by the Alberta Department of Public Health circa 1948 (A17202b/ Provincial Archives of Alberta) (A17202b/Provincial Archives of Alberta)

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Key References

Alberta's Rat Control Program Government of Alberta
The Norway Rat Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
Rats in Alberta: Looking at Pest-Control Posters from the 1950s Lianne McTavish and Jingjing Zheng. Canadian Historical Review
Oh, Rats! Heather Cleland,The Walrus
You Can't Ignore the Rat': Nonhuman Animals in Boundary Work Andrew McCumber Cultural Sociology

Crash Course on Rat-berta

Key References

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