WINNIPEG—The Winnipeg Humane Society (WHS) and Animal Justice, Canada’s leading national animal law organization, along with ground squirrel expert Dr. James Hare, are disappointed by Manitoba Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes’s decision to dismiss an appeal of the permit allowing the City of Winnipeg to kill Richardson’s ground squirrels using the anticoagulant poison Rozol and the suffocating foam RoCon.
Animal Justice filed the appeal in April alongside the Winnipeg Humane Society and University of Manitoba professor emeritus in biological sciences Dr. James Hare. In dismissing the appeal, the Minister relied heavily on the fact that both substances are federally registered for use in Canada. But federal registration only means the products can be legally sold in Canada and is not a rubber stamp for pesticide-use decisions at the provincial level.
Under Manitoba’s Environment Act, the province, not the federal government, holds the authority to decide whether poisoning ground squirrels in Winnipeg’s parks and green spaces with a slow-acting toxicant is a responsible or humane choice, despite known risks to non-target wildlife and companion animals.
“Minister Moyes’s decision seems based on a fundamental misunderstanding of Health Canada’s role in regulating pesticide use in Canada,” said Kaitlyn Mitchell, Winnipeg-based director of legal advocacy at Animal Justice. “Federal registration is not an indication of safety, or that use in all circumstances is justified or responsible. The duty to ensure poisonous wildlife baits are used safely and humanely in Manitoba rests solely with Minister Moyes.”
The Minister’s decision also downplays serious concerns which were raised about the lethal risk the poison poses to pets and non-target wildlife through secondary poisoning, as well as the suffering of the ground squirrels themselves due to the agonizing, prolonged deaths caused by Rozol, and the risk of orphaning dependent young by poisoning nursing mothers.
“Taken together, denying our appeal in the face of numerous peer-reviewed scientific studies that unequivocally document the risks of anticoagulant rodenticides to non-target species, the inadequacy of the twice-daily monitoring for surfaced poisonous baits and dead animal carcasses and legitimate concerns raised regarding the timing of pesticide application relative to the ground squirrel’s annual cycle is not a science-based decision and is not only disappointing in that sense but environmentally irresponsible,” said Dr. Hare.
The permit remains valid for one year. As a condition of the permit, the City of Winnipeg has been directed to establish an Environmental Advisory Committee to explore pest management options for future years. The WHS intends to seek a seat on that committee to ensure animal welfare concerns are represented.
“Humane practices should not be seen as a barrier to effective management; it should be an integrated part of modernizing population management policies. Strategies that include exclusion methods and ethical removal can not only help reduce repeat problems, but contribute to an overall healthier, more sustainable urban environment,” said Christina Von Schindler, chief executive officer of the WHS.
Contact:
Josh Lynn
Public Relations Manager, Animal Justice
[email protected]
Carly Peters
Director, Communications & Marketing, Winnipeg Humane Society
[email protected]
James Hare
Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba
[email protected]