Rats In Alberta

[TheRedDragon]

Alberta Pest Control has gone TOO FAR this time. Invictus and I found out today (when we were buying feeders for the kids) that as of two weeks ago, even DEAD rats are banned in Alberta! I mean, how in the hell are DEAD rats going to escape and breed???

So, if we have a snake that will NOT take rabbits and is too big for mice, this will prove to be a problem. Sure, we could get gerbils and feed them 2 or 3, but, Invictus and I prefer to feed our snakes one large prey item if possible.

I don't know about you guys, but, I really think that is RIDICULOUS! :mad:

[Lisa]

Rats such as gambian are legal, it's only rats of the genus ratus that are banned. but the dead rat thing is a little rediculas

[Neo]

thats insane.. ppl are so biased towards 'normalism'

u should secretly breed your own rats :D

[Rebecca]

Why not buy a breeding pair from B.C and just make your own rats?? I know it'll take a little while before they are adult size, but then you would at least be able to feed your snakes what they need.

[Pia]

That's taking things a little too far. What harm could a dead rat do? Did they give a reason for it?

[Bryce Masuk]

What you mean the government did something wrong and stupid?
Never heard of that ;)

[unknownclown]

Thats pretty darn lame! I guess you could get a guinea pig farm goin on, or start breeding rabbits the babies are pretty small. But you would have to get alot in order to keep a constant supply. Personally I dont think I would have a choice but to begin breeding my own rats.

[SCReptiles]

www.rodentpro.com

[Invictus]

Thanks Chuck, but ordering from the US is a bit overkill for us. I think I'm going to just go ahead and order them from Saskatchewan and BC in bulk, and maybe I'll sell them on the underground. :D Seriosuly though, the government will not stop me from feeding my snakes.

[Wuntu Menny]

While I haven't heard or read anything to confirm or deny this claim, it could very well be residual fallout from the case of the Ghambian rat carrying monkeypox a few weeks ago. I suppose one could expect the possibilty of pathogens survivng the gassing and freezing of the host only to emerge when thawed at a later date. Many viruses are extremely well adapted for this scenario.

As far as starting your own rat black market, the monetary penalties alone would put most of us out on the street. I believe the greatest damage would be done to the credibilty of the hobby that we seem to have to defend on a daily basis. With the sheer number of immature, vindictive individuals in the hobby these days, it wouldn't take long for someone to "rat you out" and bring the whole well intentioned project to a screaming halt.

My 2 bits

WM

[gonesnakee]

I think it's a false claim myself. Who is the source Ken? Until I have seen the documentation I say BS on the dead rats, but unfortunately you are 100% correct on the live rats being allowed. If it were againest the law to sell Rats (dead/frozen) in AB do you think that people would be doing it openly at public shows (ie:TARAS), NO, because all provincial statutes are upheld at these events. There are no laws againest "dead rats" unless they are extremely recent & have been kept secret. If your source of info is the petstores, they jump on board the "rumour train" every day. The "kids" at Petland tried to tell me months ago that all reptiles were "bannned" in B.C. based on a rumour that they had heard from a Hagen rep. We all know that there was not an all out ban on reptiles in B.C. (there was some BS, but not an outright ban) I think that it is more of a petstores excuse on why they don't have any. I bought $200 worth yesterday here at the Red Deer show & can probably line ya up with some in the future as it was the first of many deals with a new SK rat breeder. If I was smart I would have bought the whol;e freezer & "flogged" them all out to petstores here in Calagry today. Next time someone starts with the BS claims ask them for a documented source to back it up, as to the best of my knowledge one does not exist. Until govt. officials raid my freezer it will still have rats. Mark I.
P.S. just so ya all know, "big bro" has people that regularily "monitor" these forums to "snag" people who are "open" about their "illegal animals" etc. so don't say anything here that ya wouldn't want the whole world to know. Look at that big meet in the states that got raided. How much info did the authorities have from the internet, that was part of their investigation? Makes ya wonder? Conspiricacy freak, maybe? M.I.

[HetForHuman]

hehe i dont think it is true either.
but either way ill still be feeding my snakes F/T rats.

i bought $150 worth of rats from the same people Mark did at the red deer show.

[HetForHuman]

Oh and Chuck i did enquire with rodent pro about rats one time, and they dont gaurantee the rats will be frozen when they get to canada. so i wont deal with them.

[Wuntu Menny]

Mark, dude, you need to chill man! That's a lot of "BSing" in one post. Yer gonna blow a brain gasket!!

Seriously though, I have to agree with the hyperactive rumor mill theory until i see some official notice.

Conspiracy freaks unite!!

WM

[lilyskip]

Originally posted by TheRedDragon
I mean, how in the hell are DEAD rats going to escape and breed???

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Well-said. How ridiculous...I would get some from another province (possible?) and breed them on the DL.

[Invictus]

Unfortunately, yes... our source was a petstore. But the guy who told me, I considered to be pretty knowledgable. This was at a petstore that almost ALWAYS has rats in stock, and now all of a sudden they are not allowed to carry them??? Looks a little suspicious to me, so there must be at least some credibility to it. But, like I said... I will continue to feed my kids until I am shown an official notice as well.

Mark - I know who you're talking about with the SK rat breeder. Her prices were pretty darn good. I think I'll be doing some business with her in the future.

[HetForHuman]

im not sure if it is the same pet store im thinkin about invictus, but the one i used to get my rats from all the time in calgary stopped getting rats because they said they just cant get enough of them. there orders were getting smaller and smaller, and just couldnt do it.


so they went to rabbits instead.

[Wildkingdom]

About the dead rat thing being illegal I would like to know who said that to you as a board member of TARAS we are the first to find these things out. We get mail every week on any new legislation and have the oppourtunity to fight it. So to answer everyone's question no dead rats are illegal in alberta

Tammy

[sapphire_moon]

I think that would be pretty ridiculous if they were anyways.

[BOAS_N_PYTHONS]

THEREDDRAGON:

Wow that sucks.....I heard the same here in the city pet shops and they won' t sell feeder mice as well well not live at least.

I can see someone going "ahhhh yeah i want 3 mice nice and fat, ohhh no not for food but pets".

Then coming back next week saying they all died can I buy 3 more......lol

If you want to do a large order and have it shipped email me I can hook you up with my supplier.

Cya...

Tony

[Gary D.]

customer to petland employee: "oh, and can I just sign a blanket adoption agreement that covers all the mice I buy this year?"