Pet RATS in Alberta illegal?

[Nuggler]

The only pet sanctioned in the Alberta parliament are pink elephants.

Not so much since Ralph left....eh:lol:

 

[scottyf44]

yeah i dont know why you a**holes are being dicks about rats.
for your information theyre ****ing smart, probably smarter than most of you.
And as for being dirty? no. why do you think scientists use them? because theyre
clean and disease free. i work with cargo and we get LOTS of rats in, and ive talked to alot of people about them.
You a**holes need to find a bridge, and jump off of it

According to this National Geographic article:

Rats are among nature's most prolific mammalian breeders. Female rats breed up to a dozen times in a year and produce, on average, a half-dozen offspring. Some litters total 20 or more. It's estimated that the United States alone could house 150 million rats, possibly more.
To be fair, rats have made an incomparable contribution to laboratory sciences.
But when living in large numbers in close proximity to humans, the rodents take an enormous economic bite on people. They can devastate crops, food stores, and wreck havoc on buildings. Such property damage can tally billions of dollars. Beyond such economic damage, however, rats pose health hazards. The animals harbor the lice and fleas that spawn serious diseases such as typhus, trichinosis, and infectious jaundice. In the past they've also taken the rap for outbreaks of plague—such as the catastrophic Great Plague in 17th-century London.

Canada Province Rat-Free for 50 Years
In short, if pet rats get loose, it will cause damage enviromentally and economically. They aren't a native species to the province. And yes, once they get loose, they do pose health threats. If I remember right the Great Plague of Europe was made worse by rats because they spread disease.

 

[Ron in Regina]

They are loose. And if you would like a Pet Rat too, I can make you
one heck of a deal!!!! Cheaper in bulk quantities, but you have to
pick them up yourself in Swift Current. ;-)

(Just wire the $$$ to my PayPal Account, now how many do you want?8O)

 

[ironsides]

Man get loose, and do what men do best... breed. The province isn't willing to risk you being responsible enough to keep them properly caged. They spend a lot of money to keep their agricultural supply safe from human infestation. All it takes is one irresponsible owner to mess that up.


Lets all move to "Ape City.) :lol:

Sorry karrie, couldn't resist.

 

[taxslave]

I am planning to move to the west side of Canada someday and I hear that Alberta is rat-free and that it's illegal to own pet rats. I have 4. They're my babies and I'd never give them up. I know it is or was illegal to own a pitbull in Ontario, but that never stopped anyone.

Does anyone you know still own a rat in Albeta even though it's considered "illegal"? Do you think it'd be ok to not say anything and bring them anyways?
What would happen to them and me if someone was so rude as to tell on me? Do you think the police would actually investigate because of 4 pet rats?? I think that'd be extreme...

Pretty sure you can just hire a lawyer in Oilberta. You don't have to bring your own.

 

[karrie]

lol... no worries, it made me laugh. And I bet if the gov could find a way to make rats pay taxes like man does, they'd happily let them in.

 

[jlbee]

I actually moved to Alberta from Nova Scotia, and having my 3 pet rats for 2 years, couldn't leave them behind, so I flew them via Air Canada Live Cargo to Edmonton. They never mentioned to me at the live cargo office that it was illegal to have them in Alberta (and I had no clue because the idea of that seems absolutely rediculous to me). Then someone mentioned it to me and I decided to do some research. I actually called the agricultural department to get more information (and I'm assuming someone "ratted" me out, because I had an agricultural worker calling me about the rats). Needless to say he was quite nice about the whole thing, he came over to my house, gave me a licence to have them for a month until I could ship them out of the province, and didn't fine me the 5000$ that he could have.

However, he knew absolutely nothing about pet rats (everythig he listed off to me as being the "problem" with rats was absolutely false. In my opinion, if I was to have someone working on investigating rat sightings in Edmonton, I would want them to know SOMETHING about rats. He just kept repeating, they are dirty, they carry diseases, they eat crops, they make babies. In reality, pet rats are extremely clean (no more "dirty than a hamster). Secondly, they don't carry anymore diseases than your average dog, if not less because they don't have the potential to come into contact with other wild animals that might carry diseases (IE rabies). Rats are bred to be sold as pets, they aren't collected from the wild, hence they DO NOT have diseases anymore than your average pet store animal. Lastly, yes rats breed, and eat crops. So do rabbits, but you don't see Alberta killing off all the rabbits (which also "carry diseases"). I think Albertans are so ignorant about the realities of pet rats, and want to feel special about being the only rat free provicne in Canada. My question is, is that really something to be proud of? Couldn't they be spending this money on helping homeless people, or putting money toward programs to stop drug use (since Ive heard they are the Meth capital of Canada). I just fail to see how keeping the province "pet rat free" is still a prominant and important issue, given all of the other things Alberta is dealing with. Futhermore, for everyone who believes pet rats aren't "native" to Alberta, they live in Nova Scotia in the wild, and we also have alot of agriculture, and they aren't a problem. Rats would naturally live here if Albertans weren't extinguishing them and keeping them out. I believe exterminating wild rats is one thing, but prohibiting having rats as pets is stepping over the line and is a big waste of resources and money to regulate and police this law.

 

[Liberalman]

Rats are illegal yet they have Conservatives

 

[karrie]

jlbee, you're talking pet rats. His job is to assume your rats will not remain pets, and will be let out, where yes, they are prone to carrying disease, and every last thing he listed.

It is not uncommon for pet rats to be dumped. If all pet owners were responsible, you'd likely be allowed to keep them. Alas, they're not.

 

[Mowich]

They are loose. And if you would like a Pet Rat too, I can make you
one heck of a deal!!!! Cheaper in bulk quantities, but you have to
pick them up yourself in Swift Current. ;-)

(Just wire the $$$ to my PayPal Account, now how many do you want?8O)

Was reading about the rat problem in Swift Current, Ron. At the same time, 100 Mile was having a feral cat problem. I wrote a letter to the editor of the local rag suggesting they catch the cats and send them to Swift Current. The editor thought it was a great idea but someone from the lower mainland decided to step in and move the cats to her shelter.