Animal Protection and Environment Groups Denounce Emergency Use of Strychnine in Alberta and Saskatchewan

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CALGARY, Alberta, April 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In a shocking decision made on March 30th, Health Canada reversed its previous ban on the notoriously cruel poison strychnine, granting Alberta and Saskatchewan emergency use permits to kill ground squirrels until November 2027. In response, a coalition of environmental and animal welfare groups across the country is denouncing the reckless decision and calling on Health Canada to uphold the science-based strychnine ban.

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Following years of scientific research and consultations with all concerned parties, Health Canada cancelled the registration of all rodenticidal strychnine products in 2020, phasing them out over three years. In 2024, Health Canada then cancelled the last remaining strychnine products used to kill animals such as coyotes. Health Canada made the decision to ban these products based on its conclusion that strychnine poses inherent, unacceptable environmental risks that cannot be mitigated.

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The Emergency Use Permit followed pressure from the premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan, along with agricultural industry groups, and was cynically framed as a “Team Canada effort” by Health Canada. The temporary reinstatement of strychnine to kill Richardson’s ground squirrels in Alberta and Saskatchewan poses serious risks to non-target animals, including pets and species at risk. Strychnine baits are known to kill animals that naturally help regulate squirrel populations through predation, such as raptors, owls, coyotes, foxes, and badgers. Scientists have described it as “one of the worst ways to die on earth.”

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“Two years ago, Health Canada acknowledged the weight of the evidence and discontinued strychnine use permanently, or so it was thought. Nothing about the poison has changed, nor will it. Strychnine remains an extremely toxic, non-selective chemical,” says Sadie Parr, founder of WeHowl.

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“Health Canada’s reversal and authorization of the emergency use of rodenticidal strychnine in Alberta and Saskatchewan is deeply disappointing and entirely at odds with a true Team Canada approach. Strychnine inflicts extreme suffering on animals and poses serious risks to wildlife, non-target species, and ecosystems, undermining Canada’s commitment to humane, science-based, and environmentally responsible policy,” said Michael Bernard, Deputy Director, Humane World for Animals Canada, formerly known as Humane Society International Canada.

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“As the planet faces more frequent and severe weather extremes, we must help farmers shift away from trying to fight nature and move toward working with it,” says Hannah Barron, Conservation Director at Wolf Awareness, adding, “Supporting native predators and their habitats can help promote natural biological control mechanisms inherent to healthy ecosystems.”