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After significant delays, the window for strychnine use in Alberta and Saskatchewan officially opened Wednesday.
Farmers can use the controversial rodenticide to control Richardson’s ground squirrels — colloquially known as gophers — until Sept. 1, but limited quantities and concerns around the product’s effectiveness this late in the year are creating complications.
Strychnine was authorized for controlled and time-limited emergency use in Alberta and Saskatchewan following extensive lobbying by those provinces, after being banned by Health Canada two years ago due to environmental risks.
The Alberta government says gopher infestations in the province present a risk of more than $800 million to hay and pastures every year.
The emergency use authorization under 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.
The eagerly awaited spring application window — running March 1 to June 15 — 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.
But the product is finally in the hands of eligible municipalities in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and in many cases, demand exceeds supply.
Some like Wheatland County and Flagstaff County are using lottery systems to determine which producers can buy strychnine.
But others say it’s too late in the year for strychnine to be effective.
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.
“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.”
The July to September application window is also a time in which many gophers enter a dormant state called estivation — similar to hibernation, but caused by extreme heat.
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.
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.”
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.”
Alexandre Bergeron, spokesperson for the federal minister of health, wrote in a statement that “our government will always take a Team Canada approach to supporting farmers and Canada’s agricultural sector.”
“The July 15 to September 1 window reflects the conditions needed to support responsible use while protecting the environment, species at risk, and public health,” he said.
Concerns remain around environmental impact
Strychnine was the go-to gopher control solution on farms in Alberta and Saskatchewan before the federal government began phasing out its use on gophers in 2020.
The potent neurotoxin was then banned outright in 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.
“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.
“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.”
According to Health Canada’s strychnine re-evaluation 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 — meaning strychnine-poisoned carcasses had been left available in the environment for animals to scavenge on.
“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.
She pointed to the unintentional deaths of dogs as a major consequence of strychnine use.
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.”
“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.”
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.
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.
