The provincial government is welcoming a Health Canada approval of emergency use for strychnine.--CP FILE PHOTO
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The federal government has authorized an emergency use of strychnine for pest control two years after imposing a ban on the chemical used to control gophers.
Ottawa imposed the ban on strychnine in 2024 after finding it threatened other wildlife that may consume contaminated carcasses.
Last summer, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation R.J. Sigurdson said in a post on X that damage to agricultural land from Richardson’s ground squirrels – also known as gophers – was costing the province more than $800 million.
Sigurdson, Premier Smith and Minister Joseph Schow wrote a letter to the federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food requesting
“Alberta’s farmers and ranchers are in crisis,” read the letter. “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 per cent liquid strychnine is compounding the damage by the day, month and year.”
Alberta and Saskatchewan submitted an emergency-use request to Health Canada in February that was turned down. A revised version of the request was was submitted last week, and Health Canada announced the authorization Tuesday.
Health Canada said in a statement that Alberta and Saskatchewan “added additional restrictions and measures to lower the environmental risk to an acceptable level” in their revised request.
The authorization is valid until November 2027.
In a statement Tuesday, Sigurdson said he’s happy with the Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s acceptance of their request.
“This decision means that many prairie farmers will have another tool back in their toolbox for gopher control,” he said.
He says his government is working to supply and implement the agreement as soon as possible, and that more information will be made available to farmers and ranchers in the coming days.
