Strychnine ban coming September 2024

[urban rednek]

Health Canada announced it plans to completely ban the use of strychnine in Canada by this September. Registrations of products containing the poison are to be cancelled as of this Thursday. Compound 1080 will remain available, but is under review.

Are there other products available that target specific species of pests/varmints? Is this ban going to have a negative impact on our agricultural producers?

https://calgarysun.com/news/national...0-a0cbfc867085

Health Canada to completely ban use of strychnine poison by September

One of the poison’s main users has been the government of Alberta.

Author of the article: Canadian Press Bob Weber
Published Mar 07, 2024 • Last updated 1 hour ago

Health Canada says it plans to completely ban a powerful poison used to control predators after completing public consultations on use of strychnine.

“All uses of strychnine are cancelled,” Lynn Lee of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency said Wednesday in a conference call to stakeholder groups, monitored by The Canadian Press.

“Environmental risks are not shown to be acceptable when used according to the current conditions of licence.”

The decision, to be officially announced Thursday, reverses a proposed ruling on the toxin made by the agency in 2022. That decision would have allowed some uses of strychnine to continue, but Lee said that changed after a 90-day comment period that followed.

“This is as a result of new information we received during consultation,” Lee said on the call.

The agency has declared a six-month phaseout period. That means all uses of strychnine will be illegal on Sept. 7.

Registrations of products containing the poison are to be cancelled as of Thursday.

Strychnine has been used for decades to control animal pests, especially predators such as coyotes and wolves. Although it is highly effective, many consider it cruel.

Strychnine kills by causing muscle cramps that eventually strangle the animal. A veterinary professor has called it “one of the worst ways to die.”

Details on why the regulatory agency, an arm of Health Canada, reversed its earlier decision weren’t revealed during the call. More information was expected Thursday.

Environmental groups have long pointed to the threat that strychnine-laced carcasses pose to all kinds of wildlife, not just the target species.

One of the poison’s main users has been the government of Alberta, which uses it against wolves that find their way through cutlines or other disturbances into the habitat of threatened caribou herds.

Between 2005 and 2018, Alberta’s strychnine program killed 225 wolves and 239 other animals, including foxes, coyotes, lynx, eagles and a grizzly bear — in addition to carcasses that weren’t found. Alberta hasn’t used strychnine since 2020 and has since controlled wolves through helicopter gunning.

“We will review (the agency’s) decision and the agency’s science assessment before determining next steps,” said Alberta Environment spokesman Ryan Fournier in an email.

Animal welfare groups, including Humane Canada, the Humane Society International, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and Animal Justice, oppose strychnine.

Wednesday’s conference call was a moment of victory, said Sadie Parr of We Howl, a group of organizations dedicated to animals and conservation.

“It’s really wonderful news,” she said. “The evidence is just so overwhelming, I don’t know how they could have decided to continue to use (strychnine).”

However, the agency said it will continue to allow the controlled use of sodium monofluoroacetate, another predacide commonly known as compound 1080.

“All uses are acceptable for continued registration,” said Lee.

She said the agency will require changes to how compound 1080 is deployed to better protect non-target species, as well as improvements to the protective equipment users must wear.

Parr said many animal welfare groups oppose the use of compound 1080 as well.

“The work continues,” she said.

[W921]

No alternative that actually works that I know of.
Our MD rents out a trailer that is basically a gas engine that shoots the exhaust down the hole. I'm sure this would take time and I dont see why I couldn't just run a pipe from my truck exhaust into ground.
Some guys use propane down the holes. I would be tempted to light it up after filling the hole but probably good way to start fire.
Water truck with two inch water hose works great especially if you have 12 gauge for any runner's but takes a lot of water and with all these methods you have to drive on your field which isn't good for whatever you are trying to grow.
The new legal herbal alternative poisons they are selling don't really work.
Traps and bullet's work but most dont have time for this.

[Dean2]

Anyone with big gopher, yote or wolf problems better stock up while they can. None of the other options seem to work very well. Will be good for those of us that like to shoot gophers though.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Strychnine was very effective at wolf/coyote control when we had major rabies in 50's. However it also killed off most of the fur bearing animals like fox, marten, fisher and mink, not to mention eagles and other raptors.

[PaintearthCounty]

stock up on 22 LR and 17 hmr, friend & myself shot over 700 gophers on a half section of pasture last summer

[tallieho]

Farmers ,Ranchers around Calgary.I would be willing,to help out.By using my airgun,it's silent & extremely accurate pm if your interested

[Sledhead71]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Anyone with big gopher, yote or wolf problems better stock up while they can. None of the other options seem to work very well. Will be good for those of us that like to shoot gophers though.

The government has been phasing out Strychnine since 2020, I have been using Rozol for the past couple years. Many say it does not work but my results are different. The gophers seem to pack it into their burrows as it does not kill them right away, the following spring the numbers are greatly reduced.

Probably a good thing Strychnine was banned as it certainly worked to kill anything that was exposed to it.

[IL Bar]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Anyone with big gopher, yote or wolf problems better stock up while they can. None of the other options seem to work very well. Will be good for those of us that like to shoot gophers though.

Not sure how we can stock up. We haven’t been able to buy it for gophers since March 2022. And we legally haven’t been able to apply since March 2023.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by IL Bar

Not sure how we can stock up. We haven’t been able to buy it for gophers since March 2022. And we legally haven’t been able to apply since March 2023.

It would be illegal to use it and woe upon you if you inadvertently killed a protected species. Just another attack on farmers that will have long term consequences.

[thumper]

Next in the eco’s cross hairs is snaring. Again on the basis of ‘ a terrible way to die’, and for indiscriminate killing of a wide variety of critters.