.jpg)
A new campaign is being launched to help keep Alberta rat-free.
The “Rat on Rats!” campaign is being launched by the federal and provincial governments via a $110,000 investment through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s Resiliency and Public Trust initiative.
According to the Government of Alberta, the province has held the designation for about 70 years, a feat attributed largely to the Rat Control Program.
The new campaign will aim to point Albertans toward the program through a series of billboards and outreach materials, encouraging them to report rates and signs of rats in order to maintain control over the rat population within Alberta.
RJ Sigurdson, Highwood MLA and Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation was quoted in a release from the province.
“Alberta is famously rat-free, a status we owe not just to the hard work and dedication of Rat Control staff over many decades, but also to the vigilance of Albertans. This campaign will educate and remind Albertans to do their part to keep the pest out of our province.”
Rats and signs of rats can be reported to rats@gov.ab.ca or 310-FARM (3276).
According to the provincial government, Albertans reported 450 rat sightings in 2023.
Of those, 158 were muskrats, with only 23 confirmed to have genuinely been rats.