The province of Alberta has confirmed rodent infestations have been found in two Calgary recycling plants, just weeks after the Alberta government celebrated 70 years of being totally rat-free.The province has enforced strict methods to eradicate rats since the 1950s, from toxins, to public education, to rat genocide propaganda. “The province has had no breeding populations of rats for over 70 years thanks to its storied Rat Control Program,” according to the Alberta government. Now, the province has announced two separate rat infestations, one at Cascades Recovery+ and one at Capital Paper Recycling, as per CTV News. There are now numerous rats, and it has reportedly been going on for a couple years.Alberta's rat and pest control specialist Karen Wickerson has confirmed the presence of two rat infestations, but was unable to state exactly how many rats have been found. The rats seem to have populated the building unbeknownst to the people working there. Despite not knowing the numbers, Wickerson said they are declining. “We've been working on this and we're at a good point with both of them, where the numbers are declining," she told CTV, adding that there is no danger of the infestation spreading to other terrain. “They're very challenging environments because they have a place to live, they're warm and they have a constant food source coming in," Wickerson said. “In these facilities, it was very easy for them to exist for a while and populate before people knew they were in the facility."“They really have no reason to want to leave the facility, which is good," she said. “We definitely monitor around the area of these two facilities.”Wickerson cited an infestation in Medicine Hat over a decade ago and said it was “the last really big, significant one we've had” — and it took years to resolve. Meanwhile, Cascades Recovery+ confirmed the rat infestation within its plant and spokesman Hugo D'Amours — who is not based at the facility — said the issue is “under control.”"We are currently dealing with the presence of Norway rats at our recovery facility in Calgary," D'Amours told CTV. “The issue is under control and being managed onsite.”He said the rats may have come from a local or transcontinental source, and urged people to rinse their recyclables before putting them in the blue bin. "Cascades is a city contractor that sorts recycled material from curbside collection in Calgary. We therefore receive containers, packaging and printed material from every (Calgarian's) door in order to sort it and allow it to be recycled,” he said. “As the containers or packaging placed in the blue bin may contain food residue, there is also a risk that rats will be transported to our sorting facility.""The transcontinental and international nature of the shipping and receiving of recyclables can result in rodents transferring from one region to another,” he added. D'Amours was also unable to cite how many rats were discovered at the plant, but claimed the rats have not caused a disruption.He also said the City of Calgary is involved in dealing with the infestations, while Wickerson said she is “in communication with my designated people there weekly, daily, sometimes.”A spokesman from the city told CTV News it was unclear if the city was aware or involved in the situation.
