The grassroots group Creston Rat Patrol is ramping up its efforts to eradicate two invasive species of rats that are not native to the Creston ecosystem.
In an online petition called “Stop the spread of rats in Creston, British Columbia” hosted on Change.org. Creston Rat Patrol is calling for local government to implement an immediate community action and eradication program, develop a vector (carrier organism) bylaw, create a dumping program that supports constituents cleaning yard and agricultural waste, and putting in place a roadside safe trash/bin and compost program.
“I absolutely love the momentum we as a group have created with the rat eradication efforts,” said Trish Drinkle, founding member of Creston Rat Patrol. “I believe that we’ll see a wonderful, coordinated effort with our residents, the Town of Creston and Regional District of Central Kootenay in the near future.”
In the article “Rat population growing in the Creston Valley” (Creston Valley Advance, Aug. 8, 2019,) Rosie Wijenberg the Selkirk-Purcell Wildsafe BC co-ordinator explained that trapping rats on its own is not a solution to eradicating the rats and the underlying conditions that gave rise to the rat population in the first place.
At a coffee talk hosted by the Town of Creston on Aug. 29, Mayor Ron Toyota said the town does not recognize a rat problem because it has not received any complaints concerning rats. Toyota quickly followed up the comment by encouraging residents to fill out a complaint at the town hall for the public safety compliance officer to investigate.
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