The rat's lament

Poster from the Fish and Wildlife office

Poor rats – they have such a bad reputation. Rats were discovered in 1950 near Alsask, Alta. and provincial and municipal officials along with residents, farmers, and ranchers have waged bloody war on these creatures since they tried to come to a land of opportunity.

This particular poster made me crack up. The evil critter has Alberta in his sights, unable to focus on anything else but his goal of reaching wild rose country. What a misguided fool. Doesn't he know Alberta has been essentially rat-free since 1960? The rat must have had a hard go of things... trying to make ends meet by chewing through homes, under fields, and eliciting screams from unsuspecting human victims who knew of his reputation of carrying all kinds of diseases. I'm sure they didn't mean to pick them up.

And so, special poisons were designed, educational programs launched, and Alberta took a missionary's vigil against these hairy monsters. I tried hard to think of another animal so discriminated against, but could think of nothing.

The best part about this poster is that this rat is really quite stupid. The beautiful, open fields that look so promising turn deadly when the mercury drops. It's one of the only places that has been vigilant enough (or rich enough? It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars) to attempt such a daunting task. Most people don't believe me when I say Alberta's pretty much rat-free.

But if I've ever seen a poster that reminded me of Uncle Sam's days, it was this one. I could just see America's flag waving in Hitler's eyes...