Health Canada to completely ban use of strychnine poison by September

A female wolf, left, and male wolf roam the tundra near The Meadowbank Gold Mine in Nunavut on Wednesday, March 25, 2009. Health Canada says it will completely ban strychnine after completing public consultations on use of the powerful poison. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

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.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2024.