City Of Swift Rat Zapper Distribution Plan Jumps The Gun
The City of Swift Current jumped the gun in announcing plans to distribute rat traps through the Salvation Army.
Two weeks following the announcement, originally made September 2, the rodent killing devices were still not in Swift Current and were en-route from California. The City first announced the partnership in a media conference emphasizing their new, more aggressive approach to rodent control.
However, the initial idea to provide rat zappers to disadvantaged homes didn’t come from City Hall or the Salvation Army. The City’s role in partnering with the Salvation Army included providing money to purchase 26 of 92 rat zapper units donated to the Salvation Army which would discern who needed them.
What is a rat zapper? According to the website, it is the brain child of a Southern California man, Robert Noe, who was looking for an effective way to kill rats without poison.
“The answer finally arrived one morning when Mr. Noe, sipping a glass of orange juice from his orchard, discovered that a hapless gopher had quickly met his Maker after popping out of his hole and inadvertently touching his nose to an exposed ‘hot’ wire on Mr. Noe’s horse fence,” describes the short story on the product’s website.
Randi Ellis, an organic farmer near Hazlet, approached the City looking for way to distribute the zapper units. With support from organic brokers, growers and consumers from Calgary to Fox Valley to Lacombe an “organic” decision was made and funds were raised to provide poison-less units. The organic industry can’t have rats, said Ellis, and by nature of the industry, poison is far from acceptable. He had anticipated that getting the zappers from California would have been much faster.
However, due to laws governing bilingualism and other regulations it turned into a bit of a headache for the organic farmer during a busy harvest season. “(Ellis) had the foresight to realize that those who don’t have a disposable income may not wish to spend their much-needed income on rat traps,” said Michael Ramsay, Salvation Army captain.
Noting he was glad the City recognized that by directing Ellis to the Salvation Army for distribution, the zappers would get to the people who need support the most. “The City did a good job at co-ordinating someone who had a vision and funds to us who would be able to implement it,” he added. “Quite a number of calls” have been made to the Salvation Army inquiring about the devices. “We have simply let them know that we can take their names and we would notify the media as soon as we actually do have the rat traps,” said Ramsay.
From an article published at the Prarie Post by Elizabeth Huber.