Alberta’s self-image as world’s only rat-free region shattered by discovery of rat

<p>Province’s rat patrol called in to investigate as town of Bowden announces discovery of dead vermin</p><p>For more than seven decades, residents of Alberta have shared something in common with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/antarctica">Antarctica</a> and the high Arctic: all locations are officially free of rats.</p><p>But on Thursday the Canadian province’s reputation as a firewall against rodent infestation took a hit when the town of Bowden announced the discovery of a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bowden.alberta/posts/pfbid031FGqcAkn3v6np32GrjstrHq4vG6kvLTpwQAFgziGzfZ3CRMNUvdrPAVhj4ykzgJGl?__cft__[0]=AZhLZsnMs9SEUxjEQxY8GcDTfQBy2NooZLSyunf1Uq9A62jKAFJcEF_9Uax7_PTLQDueiDT8PW7E7_-EM9D6_miXSthC1BKpaR4-3iwtPoLiyrQ4r4TId3E6gYkR1oprzl6uRqg0lUzD8vooPRM8vM8oNTzSbycJx7RdYNXSn2JercEIPQY_&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R" title="https://www.facebook.com/bowden.alberta/posts/pfbid031FGqcAkn3v6np32GrjstrHq4vG6kvLTpwQAFgziGzfZ3CRMNUvdrPAVhj4ykzgJGl?__cft__[0]=AZhLZsnMs9SEUxjEQxY8GcDTfQBy2NooZLSyunf1Uq9A62jKAFJcEF_9Uax7_PTLQDueiDT8PW7E7_-EM9D6_miXSthC1BKpaR4-3iwtPoLiyrQ4r4TId3E6gYkR1oprzl6uRqg0lUzD8vooPRM8vM8oNTzSbycJx7RdYNXSn2JercEIPQY_&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R">dead rat</a> and called on the province’s “rat patrol” to investigate.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/25/alberta-canada-rat-patrol">Continue reading...</a>