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Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt says her office has heard from local residents concerned about a rising gopher infestation, as Alberta calls on Ottawa to reinstate strychnine for ground squirrel control.
“We have received a few inquiries regarding the gopher infestation impacting our local area, with particular concern expressed by stakeholders within the agricultural sector,” Pitt wrote in a July 2 social media post. “In light of the situation, the Minister has declared a state of emergency and has requested the immediate reconsideration of the previously implemented ban on strychnine.”
She did not name the minister. A letter on the subject was posted by Alberta Agriculture Minister RJ Sigurdson on June 27.
The letter, addressed to federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald and co-signed by Premier Danielle Smith and Jobs Minister Joseph Schow, was posted to Sigurdson’s official Facebook page. It carries no internal date.
“Alberta’s farmers and ranchers are in crisis,” the letter begins. “The unchecked spread of Richardson’s ground squirrels (RGS) is devastating our agricultural lands, and the continued delay in reinstating the production and sale of two percent liquid strychnine is compounding the damage by the day, month and year.”
It states that the infestation is “one of the largest risks to our agricultural producers seen in years,” estimating the annual risk to hay and native pasture in Alberta at more than $800 million. The letter also cites damage to crops, livestock, farm equipment, fibre optic lines, water pipes and gas infrastructure.
“The banning of strychnine by PMRA was done without warning or any scientific basis,” it states. “This ban was also done without any economic considerations and without effective alternatives being readily available.”
It urges the federal government to “immediately reverse the PMRA decision and reinstate the production and sale of strychnine for RGS control.”
Sigurdson reiterated that demand in a June 27 social media post accompanying the letter.
“Despite the escalating destruction, producers are being forced to fight this plague without their most effective tool: 2% liquid strychnine,” he wrote.
“This isn’t just a rural issue — it’s a national food security issue. We are calling on the federal government to reverse the PMRA’s decision now — before the damage becomes irreversible.”
Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency cancelled the use of strychnine for Richardson’s ground squirrel control in a March 4, 2020 decision, citing environmental risks to non-target species.
“Strychnine-killed ground squirrels may have an impact on the health of owls in the longer term,” the agency wrote in Re-evaluation Decision RVD2020-06. “There is evidence from previous studies and incident reports that secondary poisoning does occur.”
The PMRA concluded that placing bait deeper into burrows or covering entrances did not adequately prevent the exposure of predators, scavengers or species at risk. Its evaluation cited field data showing poisoned carcasses regularly surfaced on treated land and were scavenged within days.
“Considering all available information, it was determined that existing mitigation measures cannot adequately address the risks,” the agency stated. “Therefore, based on a scientific evaluation of the available data, the environmental risks… are not considered to be acceptable.”
In a follow-up decision published March 7, 2024, Health Canada cancelled all remaining predacide uses of strychnine under RVD2024-04. That ruling applied to its use against wolves, coyotes, black bears and skunks, and was based on new information submitted during a 90-day public consultation.
“Based on this use record information, Health Canada found that there was more strychnine used than the number of poisoned carcasses retrieved,” the decision states. “This means that there were strychnine-poisoned carcasses available in the environment for other animals to feed on, which increases the risk of secondary poisoning.”
“Since practical risk-reduction measures to protect non-target animals cannot be identified and to minimize the impact on biodiversity, Health Canada is cancelling all uses of strychnine with a six-month phase-out period.”
No new incidents involving human, domestic animal or environmental exposure were reported during the re-evaluation.
Health Canada said the cancellation was expected to have a low impact on predator and skunk management, citing other available tools such as trapping, fencing, guardian animals, and the continued use of sodium monofluoroacetate (Compound 1080).
Sodium monofluoroacetate remains registered in Alberta with stricter label conditions, a product stewardship program, and requirements for usage reporting.
Rocky View County also flagged concerns in a June 22 public bulletin titled “How to Manage a Gopher Boom!” The municipality encouraged landowners to adopt ecosystem-based control methods, including encouraging predators such as owls and foxes, rotating pasture to improve forage health, and reducing overgrowth to make land less hospitable to gophers.
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