The global rat population features a strange Alberta-shaped rat-free zone. What’s behind Alberta’s rat-free jurisdiction? What economic and political forces shaped this policy, and how does Alberta’s rat-free status contribute to its self-image as uniquely different from other regions of Canada? What are the consequences of this kind of ecosystem management, and who stands to benefit from it?

Further reading:
McTavish, Lianne, and Jingjing Zheng. “Rats in Alberta: looking at pest-control posters from the 1950s.” Canadian Historical Review 92.3 (2011): 515-546.

Our cold open is sampled from STORYHIVE’s Oh, Rats!. Images from Alberta’s anti-rat publications follow the break.