WINNIPEG—National animal law organization Animal Justice, the Winnipeg Humane Society (WHS), and a University of Manitoba biology professor are formally appealing a provincial permit allowing the City of Winnipeg to use anticoagulant rodenticides and suffocating foam to kill Richardson’s ground squirrels in parks and athletic fields.
The groups are asking Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes to suspend the permit immediately and ultimately revoke it, citing risks of prolonged suffering, harm to non-target species (including dogs and cats), and flaws in the public notice process.
“Poisoning animals with anticoagulants leads to a slow death from internal bleeding that can take days or weeks,” said Winnipeg-based lawyer Kaitlyn Mitchell, director of legal advocacy at Animal Justice. “This permit allows the City to use cruel and irresponsible methods that cause significant suffering and put other animals, including pets, at very serious risk.”
Last year, Winnipeg planned to gas ground squirrels with so-called “Giant Destroyer” sulfur bombs, but the province blocked the plan. However, this year the City sought approval for methods which are even worse, obtaining a permit to use Rozol poison baits and RoCon suffocating foam. Rozol in particular is even crueler than Giant Destroyer, harder to monitor, and more likely to harm non-target animals.
Animals who ingest Rozol die in agony, experiencing paralysis and uncontrolled bleeding before dying. Poisoned animals can also be eaten by predators or scavengers, leading to secondary poisoning of birds of prey, coyotes, and domestic cats and dogs. The lethargic state of poisoned ground squirrels makes them easy prey, ensuring that the poison enters the local food chain despite the City’s monitoring efforts.
While the permit requires checks for stray bait and dead animals at least twice daily, monitoring large areas that infrequently cannot ensure that all surfaced bait and dead animals are found. Poisoned animals may die out of sight or on nearby private property, and carcasses or bait can be scavenged by wildlife or pets before staff arrive. Gaps between inspections leave wildlife and pets at risk of both primary and secondary poisoning.
The appeal also raises concerns about RoCon, which is sprayed into burrows as a foam that suffocates animals. While it poses lower risks to non-target animals, like Giant Destroyer, it often fails to kill all animals in complex burrow systems, leaving some to suffer or die later. Dr. James Hare, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, who has studied ground squirrels for decades, says the timing of the City’s program is a key issue.
“Where control proves necessary, it should be practiced prior to the birth of young-of-the-year, so as not to leave dependent young orphaned in nest burrows to die a slow death owing to dehydration and starvation without their mother,” Hare said.
Hare added that “As of early July, all adult Richardson’s ground squirrels are safely in hibernation, so control efforts at that point remove only juveniles, depriving predators that normally keep ground squirrel populations in check of their natural prey. This promotes predator population collapse and destabilizes the natural predator-prey system.”
Additionally, the appeal points out that the City’s public notice failed to meet regulatory requirements, leaving neighbouring property owners unclear about their rights. The notice did not clearly state that owners of properties adjacent to treatment sites could formally register objections to the pesticide use.
Without this information, residents cannot fully participate in the process or protect their pets and property from exposure to poisoned bait and carcasses. This procedural flaw undermines public consultation and puts local animals at unnecessary risk.
“It’s extremely disappointing, after multiple discussions with the City on humane alternatives to these archaic forms of ‘pest control,’ that we are once again forced to advocate for better solutions for animals and the community. The long-term solution must include updates to City policies that prioritize humane and ethical options to stop this from becoming an annual issue,” said Krista Boryskavich, director of animal advocacy and legal and government affairs for the WHS.
In the appeal, the groups have requested that the Minister stay the permit while the appeal is under review, to prevent irreversible harm to wildlife and other animals.
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]