The untold story of the land where no rats are found

Mice are mammals belonging to the rodent order. They are a diverse species, easily adaptable to all conditions, so the distribution of "residents" is very wide. Although their lifespan is short, mice have a very strong reproductive rate.

Rats are considered pests because they destroy everything from fields, gardens, livestock farms to urban areas such as restaurants, supermarkets or households. Rats not only cause damage but also cause pollution when they release feces, hair or waste. Therefore, for many people, rats are hateful and difficult to kill.

Except for Antarctica, which is too cold, mice are present in many places around the world. However, scientists say that in reality, there are still lands that have pushed mice out and made them appear only in books in their area.

Rats only appear in the books of the people of this land. (Photo: The Guardian)

This land is Alberta. Alberta is one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada. Alberta is located in Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north and the United States to the south. According to statistics as of July 2022, Alberta has an area of 661,848 km2 and a population of 4,527,182.

Alberta is a large area, but since the 1950s, rats have completely disappeared from this place. According to BBC, in the past, Norway rats seriously devastated Alberta. They are a species that not only reproduces in large numbers, but more frighteningly, they can swim very well and eat metal.

The Alberta government quickly launched a campaign to eradicate the rodents. There were constant rat raids. They blocked the rats’ entry routes, sprayed rat poison around the city, set up pest control teams, and cleaned up landfills, farms, and densely populated areas.

Alberta rat extermination propaganda posters. (Photo: The Guardian)

Even everyone attended a course to distinguish between rats and rodents. People were educated on the need to eliminate rats.

By 1970, the number of rat colonies had gone from 500 to 50. By 1990, there were 20, and by 2003, there were almost none. The Alberta government was still active in rat control. Pest control teams were still in operation. Residents could call the hotline and the pest control team would come to their location to deal with the problem. So by 2015, rats were gone. Many residents, especially young people, had never seen a rat in real life.

However, the eastern region, where up to 3,000 farms border Alberta, still sees one or two rat invasions each year. Pest control crews are always quick to show up and repel them.

Quoc Thai (Source: The Guardian)

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