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Richardson's Ground Squirrels are having an increasing impact on Alberta farms, prompting new efforts to assess the situation.
Wheatland County announced that the 2025 Agriculture Service Boards (ASB) Gopher Impact Survey will be available for farmers and producers to complete starting on Monday (Aug. 18).
The survey aims to assess the extent of crop and land damage caused by gophers and evaluate the effectiveness of current pest control methods. The results may help create a call to action on future decisions around gopher management on prairie farms.
Foothills MP John Barlow, shadow minister of agriculture, has requested that ASB provide the survey results on behalf of farmers.
Other groups have also raised concerns about rising gopher populations.
Earlier in the summer, the South Region Association of Alberta Agriculture Fieldmen (AAAF) collected letters from farmers outlining their concerns. The letters were submitted on June 13 to advocate for the reinstatement of strychnine, a chemical formerly used to control gophers.
ASB also advocates for a reinstatement of 2 per cent liquid strychnine, a rodenticide described as an alkaloid poison that causes fatal muscle spasms and convulsions.
The Health Canada Pest Management Regulatory Agency officially banned the use of strychnine nationwide on Sept. 7, 2024, following pressure from animal welfare groups, including Animal Justice, Animal Alliance of Canada, and Humane Society International. These groups warned that the poison posed serious risks to non-target species such as wolves, coyotes, foxes, and birds of prey.
A 2024 study done by wildlife researcher Sadie Parr, published in The Canadian Field-Naturalist, found that a strychnine-based wolf population control program killed 277 non-target animals between 2005 and 2018.
Since the ban, Alberta farmers have turned to other control methods, including hunting, trapping, fumigation, burrow blasting, alternative poisons, and natural predators. While effectiveness varies, ASB hopes the new survey will help build a stronger case for future pest management support and shed light on the challenges facing local prairie producers.