{"id":803672,"date":"2026-07-15T14:53:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/803672\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T14:53:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:53:11","slug":"strychnine-use-for-gopher-control-officially-begins-in-alberta-saskatchewan-after-delays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/803672\/","title":{"rendered":"Strychnine use for gopher control officially begins in Alberta, Saskatchewan after delays"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 5 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

After significant delays, the window for strychnine use in Alberta and Saskatchewan officially opened Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Farmers can use the controversial<\/a>\u00a0rodenticide to control Richardson’s ground squirrels \u2014 colloquially known as gophers \u2014 until Sept. 1, but limited quantities and concerns around the product’s effectiveness this late in the year are creating complications.<\/p>\n

Strychnine was authorized for\u00a0controlled and time-limited emergency use\u00a0in Alberta and Saskatchewan following\u00a0extensive lobbying<\/a>\u00a0by those provinces, after being banned by Health Canada two years ago\u00a0due to environmental risks. <\/p>\n

The Alberta government says gopher infestations in the province present a risk of more than $800 million to hay and pastures every year.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0emergency use authorization\u00a0under the Pest Control Products Act allows producers in Alberta and Saskatchewan to use strychnine until November 2027, but it can only be used during strict seasonal windows. <\/p>\n

\"AA Richardson’s ground squirrel, known colloquially as a gopher. (Amir Said\/CBC)<\/p>\n

The eagerly awaited spring application window \u2014 running March 1 to June 15 \u2014 was missed, as no strychnine was shipped during that time due to supply chain issues faced by Agromax, the sole authorized manufacturer of strychnine in Canada.<\/p>\n

But the product is finally in the hands of eligible municipalities in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and in many cases, demand exceeds supply.<\/p>\n

Some like Wheatland County and Flagstaff County are using lottery systems to determine which producers can buy strychnine.<\/p>\n

But others say it’s too late in the year for strychnine to be effective. <\/p>\n

The Municipal District of Wainwright in east-central Alberta announced Tuesday that it wouldn’t be making strychnine available to producers this year due to how late in the season it is, coupled with extremely limited product availability. <\/p>\n

“The best time to use products like this is prior to green up in the spring,” said Shelby Oracheski, Wainwright’s agricultural fieldman. “Once alternative food sources start becoming available, the bait is just a lot less attractive.”<\/p>\n

The July to September application window is also a time in which many gophers enter a dormant state called\u00a0estivation<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 similar to hibernation, but caused by extreme heat. <\/p>\n

\"AA Richardson’s ground squirrel in March. The use of strychnine in early spring is considered more effective than using it in the summer, as low natural food availability makes it more likely for them to eat the poison bait. (Amir Said\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Oracheski said 71 producers in the municipality completed the strychnine training required to buy and use the product, but inquiries have slowed down due to concerns around its effectiveness at this time of year.<\/p>\n

She said the goal is to hold on to the strychnine until next year so producers “can actually get a proper full season of use.”<\/p>\n

There is also hope for ongoing advocacy to extend the special use approval for another year, as Oracheski said this current season is viewed somewhat as a “write-off.” <\/p>\n

Alexandre Bergeron, spokesperson for the federal minister of health, wrote in a statement that “our government will always take a Team\u00a0Canada\u00a0approach to supporting farmers and\u00a0Canada\u2019s agricultural sector.\u201d <\/p>\n

“The July 15 to September 1 window reflects the conditions needed to support responsible use while protecting the environment, species at risk, and public\u00a0health,” he said.<\/p>\n

Concerns remain around environmental impact<\/p>\n

Strychnine was the go-to gopher control solution on farms in Alberta and Saskatchewan before the federal government began\u00a0phasing out\u00a0its use<\/a>\u00a0on gophers in 2020.<\/p>\n

The potent neurotoxin was then\u00a0banned outright<\/a>\u00a0in 2024 due to environmental risks posed by the poison, including the potential for at-risk species like swift foxes and burrowing owls to be impacted. <\/p>\n

\"SwiftSwift foxes and burrowing owls are considered at-risk species in the Canadian Prairies. (Santisouk Phommachakr)<\/p>\n

“If you’re using it to control ground squirrels, often you’ll see it move further up the food chain,” said Ruiping Luo, a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association.<\/p>\n

“You’ll see it start to affect the predators and you’ll see it affect other animals that you’re not necessarily trying to get rid of.” <\/p>\n

According to Health Canada’s strychnine re-evaluation<\/a> ahead of the substance being banned outright in 2024, there was more strychnine used when it was legal than the number of poisoned carcasses retrieved \u2014 meaning strychnine-poisoned carcasses had been left available in the environment for animals to scavenge on.<\/p>\n

“The amount they put out was not what they were able to find at the end, and that means that some of it got into the ecosystem,” Luo said.<\/p>\n

She pointed to the unintentional deaths of dogs as a major consequence of strychnine use.<\/p>\n

While the new strychnine program comes with strict requirements and environmental protocols, Luo said the decision was made “without much scientific evidence … despite the known risks.”<\/p>\n

“We understand that ground squirrels are a pest, they can cause damage, and that that is a concern for a lot of producers,” Luo said. “I would just argue against relying entirely on a single compound to deal with that as a problem.”<\/p>\n

The Alberta government suggests a list of alternatives for gopher control, including a variety of legal pesticides and fumigation, as well as promoting predator activity by building platforms or boxes for raptors like hawks and falcons to nest.<\/p>\n

Other solutions for farmers include promoting tall vegetation growth, as gophers prefer open fields rather than dense plant cover, and managing livestock grazing practices to actively discourage gopher colonies from establishing. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 5 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":803673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-803672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}