Roof Rat Laws › Canada › Saskatchewan
Summary. Saskatchewan is the clearest ‘yes’ in Canada. The province runs an aggressive feral-rat eradication program (landowners must destroy wild rats), yet it ALSO explicitly lists the Black Rat (Rattus rattus) on its official Captive Wildlife allowed list. Because the species is named on the allowed list, residents may keep, breed, and sell captive R. rattus as pets with NO captive-wildlife licence and no provincial registration. Large-scale breeding can still trigger municipal zoning or business-licensing rules.
legal note
This is a research aid, not legal advice; rules change and are interpreted by local officials. Verify with the official source before acting.Status by activity
Keeping / owning Legal
Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-06
The Black Rat (Rattus rattus) is explicitly named on Saskatchewan’s Captive Wildlife allowed list (under The Wildlife Act, 1998 and the Captive Wildlife Regulations, 2021), which exempts listed species from the captive-wildlife licence requirement. So a resident may keep a captive-bred roof rat as a pet with no provincial licence, even though feral rats must be destroyed under the province’s pest-control duty.
Sources: Government of Saskatchewan, Government of Saskatchewan / SVMA
Breeding Legal
Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-06
Because the species is on the allowed list, small-scale keeping and breeding are unregulated by wildlife law. A large commercial operation may meet a municipal ‘commercial wildlife farm’ / kennel definition or local business-licensing and zoning rules, so check your municipality if breeding at scale.
Sources: Government of Saskatchewan, Government of Saskatchewan / SVMA
Selling or giving away Legal
Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-06
Selling or giving an allowed-list captive species is permitted; only large-scale commercial sale brings municipal pet-shop/business licensing into play. No provincial dealer licence is required for an allowed species.
Sources: Government of Saskatchewan
Transport & import Legal
Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-06
Transport of a captive R. rattus within and into Saskatchewan is legal for an allowed-list species. Interprovincial transport is legal but subject to the destination province’s rules, note you cannot transport one into (or, unresolved, through) Alberta.
Sources: Government of Saskatchewan
Restrictions & responsibilities
Source: Government of Saskatchewan
- Check your municipality’s business-licensing and zoning rules if breeding/selling at scale
Where: Your municipality · Fees: Set locally
Official sources
- Saskatchewan Captive Wildlife, Allowed Species List (Black Rat / Rattus rattus listed), Government of Saskatchewan
- The Captive Wildlife Regulations, 2021 (under The Wildlife Act, 1998), Government of Saskatchewan / SVMA
- Saskatchewan Pests Declaration / Pest Control Act, feral-rat eradication duty, Government of Saskatchewan
Search terms: Rattus rattus, roof rat, black rat, ship rat.
Last reviewed 2026-06-06, which is when a person last read this page against its sources. Spotted an error, or know the law has changed? Email blonderoofrat@gmail.com. And if you write to the agency yourself and get an answer in writing, please forward it. Written agency replies are how 31 of these pages stopped being research and became confirmed.