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For decades, dogs have been verboten on the Pribilof Islands under a rule imposed by the federal government to protect the world’s largest concentration of northern fur seals.
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Now, dogs are welcome — with important caveats.
Under a new interim rule enacted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, dogs may be brought to the islands, but only for the specific purpose of hunting for rats. Dogs allowed on St. Paul Island or any other part of the five-island archipelago must be trained and certified as rat-detectors and catchers, and their stays are limited to 180 days. The general ban on dogs, in place since the 1980s, remains intact, but the new rule creates an exception for dogs enlisted in the anti-rat work.
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The Pribilofs have managed to stay rat-free even as other Alaska islands and coastal areas have become infested with the non-native rodents.
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