An agricultural producer who also happens to be the reeve of the County of Stettler says he’s still hopeful the ban on strychnine to control farm pests can be loosened.

Reeve Larry Clarke, who also farms about 1,000 acres of cattle and crops east of Stettler in the Hamlet of Gadsby area, said an effort to lobby the Government of Canada had farmers hopeful, as many felt the feds were listening to producers.

In a phone call Feb. 26, Clarke noted a recent effort to get strychnine re-approved failed, although the reeve said it wasn’t through lack of effort; he said the attempt was based around the responsible use of strychnine, a poison that producers have found effective at controlling not just the Richardson ground squirrel (gopher), but also pest predators like coyotes. “I was very disappointed, as a producer,” said Clarke, who added his disappointment grew as an elected official who felt provincial governments made a very solid case for strychnine’s return to the farm.

An effort to ease a 2024 Government of Canada ban on agricultural use of strychnine by both the Alberta and Saskatchewan provincial governments, with the support of ag service boards, was turned down in Feb. 2026.

In 2024, the Government of Canada effectively banned the use of strychnine for agricultural purposes; the federal government rationalized the decision by stating strychnine, when used to control gophers, can end up getting into the food chain and killing other wildlife, including at-risk species. “Based on new information received during the public consultation, Health Canada updated its environmental risk assessment of the use of strychnine,” stated a 2024 press release from the federal government. “As a result, Health Canada found that strychnine uses did not meet the requirements for protection of the environment and is cancelling all uses.”

Clarke said he feels very strongly that strychnine can be safely used, as he remembered growing up on the farm watching his dad use a “poison pail” for pests. His dad wore protective gear and the pail was stored in essentially a forbidden area where no one was permitted.

Clarke stated the gopher population since 2024 appears to have recovered and is only gaining strength. The creatures are famed for their destructiveness. “They’re also destructive, very destructive with the holes they dig,” said Clarke, adding that their voracious appetites cause trouble too. “They can really decimate a crop.” The reeve added he’s seen hills eaten smooth by gophers.

The reeve noted not only do gophers themselves cause problems, but as their numbers grow they attract another predator problem: badgers. Clarke said the badgers also burrow below ground, leave holes larger than the gophers and he has seen much evidence of this over the current winter. Those holes damage vehicles and farm equipment and can be a death sentence for cattle and livestock that step in and break a leg. “(For a mature) cow and a horse, it’s kind of the end of the road for them,” said the reeve.

Clarke observed all producers who used strychnine know its risks but also laud it for its effectiveness; the reeve said alternatives to strychnine don’t show much effect. In his opinion, the next most effective way to control gophers besides strychnine is a rifle.

The reeve noted there are some very disappointed producers as strychnine remains banned, but he said there’s still some hope as an effort could be made to have strychnine use licensed to professionals. “We’ll keep lobbying, we’ll keep pushing,” said Clarke.

“We haven’t given up the battle.”