CALGARY—Animal Justice is deeply disappointed by the federal government’s decision to allow the use of strychnine to kill Richardson ground squirrels in Alberta and Saskatchewan, an unscientific reversal of its own earlier findings that the poison poses unacceptable risks to animals and the environment.
The decision permits the use of strychnine until November 2027 to kill Richardson’s ground squirrels, despite a recent determination by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) that the substance cannot be used safely.
“This decision is appallingly irresponsible. The PMRA did the right thing when it made the science-based decision to ban the use of strychnine in Canada,” said Alexandra Pester, Animal Justice’s Calgary-based staff lawyer. “There is no safe or environmentally acceptable way to poison animals with strychnine. It is an indiscriminate poison that causes excruciating pain to all animals who ingest it”
Strychnine causes severe and prolonged suffering, triggering violent seizures and muscle spasms while animals remain conscious, often dying slowly from suffocation or exhaustion. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association considers it inhumane due to the extreme pain it inflicts.
It is also indiscriminate, killing non-target wildlife such as birds, foxes, and coyotes through both direct ingestion and secondary poisoning, and poses serious risks to humans who may be exposed. It can also kill dogs who ingest poisoned baits or the bodies of poisoned animals scattered throughout the environment.
The government’s disappointing decision comes despite more than a dozen environmental and animal advocacy groups urging the PMRA to stand firm in its original, evidence-based decision to ban the use of strychnine to kill ground squirrels.
In the letter (attached), the groups called on the PMRA to adhere to its rigorous scientific mandate rather than capitulate to the regressive quick fix requested by Premiers Danielle Smith and Scott Moe, which prioritizes alleged economic considerations over catastrophic environmental risk and widespread animal suffering.
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