Prairie farmers say a move by Ottawa to temporarily lift a ban on a rodent poison is a good start to address rampant gopher populations that have decimated crops and injured livestock.
“I suspect maybe if the Bible had been written in Saskatchewan, it wouldn’t have been locusts. It would have been gophers,” Jeremy Welter, a farmer near Kerrobert, Sask., said Tuesday.
“I think (lifting the ban) is one of those things that is long overdue.”
On Monday, federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald announced producers can again start using two per cent liquid strychnine until November 2027 to control gophers, also known as Richardson’s ground squirrels.
Health Canada had previously banned the chemical, arguing it poses risks to other wildlife, but the ministers now say it’s needed to address infestations that have caused millions of dollars in damage.
“(Gophers) have become a serious pest threatening a variety of crops,” the ministers said in a statement.
“The Prairies have been experiencing abnormally dry conditions, which affects the sustainability and quality of farmlands and allowed the population of these gophers to increase significantly.”
The Alberta and Saskatchewan governments have been pushing for the ban to be lifted after Ottawa initially denied their proposal to do so earlier this year.
Welter, who’s also a vice-president with the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, said that two years ago, gophers chewed through nearly 45 hectares of his canola when strychnine was banned.
Forty-five hectares is approximately equal to the size of an 18-hole golf course.
Welter said he reseeded the crop, but the gophers came back to eat another 26 hectares. Crop insurance had paid for both losses, he said.
“As a taxpayer, I’m very grateful that (crop insurance) exists, but I think there’s probably better uses for our tax dollars than that,” he said. “But that is what’s happening because we don’t have access to really important tools for the control of gophers.”
Jeff Yorga, president of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, said he lost a cow that broke its leg while stepping into a gopher hole on his land near Flintoft, Sask.
“I hope it’s something that nobody ever has to see, because there’s no solution (other than) to euthanize,” he said. “It’s a difficult situation for everybody when something like that has to happen.”
Only certain areas of Saskatchewan and Alberta are allowed to use strychnine this year.
Welter said he lives just outside the allowable zone, but he hopes his area can be included.
“I think this is a good start,” he said. “Now we need to work on making the right additions and changes to it to make it a comprehensive and complete program.”
Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit said the decision to only allow strychnine to be used in some areas was based on past crop insurance claims and considerations for at-risk species.
He said there likely won’t be changes to allowable zones this year.
“For next year’s application, we can maybe see an expansion on that,” he told reporters in Regina. “I’m very thankful we got what we have here now.”
Alberta Agriculture Minister RJ Sigurdson told reporters in Edmonton he’s also appreciative of Ottawa’s decision.
“I have farmers that have put in front of me irrigation lines, natural gas lines that have been damaged from the population growth (of gophers),” he said. “These are serious concerns. We are in an emergency.”
Animal Justice, an advocacy group, said in a statement it’s disappointed by the decision, arguing strychnine is not safe or environmentally acceptable.
The group warned the poison can kill dogs or other animals that ingest baits or carcasses.
“It is an indiscriminate poison that causes excruciating pain to all animals who ingest it,” said Alexandra Pester, a lawyer with the group.
Michel and MacDonald said producers are to follow a stewardship program when applying the poison, arguing it will reduce environmental risks.
“To support the Canadian economy and agricultural sector, we need a Team Canada effort as we steer the country toward a better path forward,” the ministers said.
The federal Conservatives took credit for the temporary approval.
“Following months of relentless advocacy from Conservatives and provincial partners, the Liberal government has backed down on its refusal to approval the emergency use of strychnine,” the party said in a statement Tuesday.
Welter said he’s glad Ottawa listened to concerns raised by the provinces and industry groups.
“There’s at the very least an undercurrent or maybe a very obvious current of people that feel like the government isn’t listening and isn’t paying attention to us,” he said. “This is evidence to the contrary and really indicative of co-operation.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.
Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press
