Dr. Judit Smits
DVM, MVetSc, PhD, Professor
Ecotoxicology & Wildlife Health
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary
Re: the indiscriminant nature of strychnine, sodium fluoroacetate (compound 1080) and sodium cyanide as wildlife killing agents as predator-control poisons in current (legal) use in AB:
In efforts to control predation by carnivores, which are perceived to be largely responsible for declines in endangered and threatened species such as the woodland caribou, as well as for preying on domestic animals, there is continued legal and illegal applications of strychnine, and sodium fluoroacetate, both of which can and do cause death in non-target species.
Persistence of 1080 in the environment in baits, and in the carcasses of poisoned carnivores, causes secondary poisoning in unintended animals. Even for those animals not directly consuming the bait,
other predators and scavengers can be intoxicated by feeding on the poisoned carcass. Non-target animals that may have consumed some of the bait will not behave normally, making themselves more susceptible to predation, and thus provide yet another route for poisoning non-target animals.
Affected,non-target species have include native small mammals, owls, hawks, other birds of prey, scavengers including endangered species of vulture, ravens, magpies, foxes, seed eating birds, insectivorous birds, bobcats, plus domestic dogs.
DWIGHT RODTKA
The characteristic form of a wolf or coyote killed by strychnine displayed is described in the following expert testimonial by Dwight Rodtka, a retired provincial wildlife official for Alberta who worked as a predator control officer:
All the muscles try to work at once so you get the fore and rear legs extended rigidly as far as they will go and the back arched downward with the head and neck extended forward and upward. This is the classic form and easily recognizable once seen. Of course deterioration changes this and then a check for toxicants must be done. If the animal is skinned the flesh side of the hide will be bruised caused by the rupturing of blood vessels during convulsions but this too changes with deterioration.
I am completely against strychnine being used in this cull because it is inhumane and simply will not effectively kill wolves in either a cull situation or livestock depredation. It causes bait aversion very quickly as well as (killing) non targets and there is secondary poisoning. It's use causes the needless death of countless animals.
Dr. Gilbert Proulx
November 2, 2017
To Whom it May Concern:
With this letter, I join my voice to those of all responsible Canadian citizens who are concerned with the use of strychnine in Canada. In the last years, it has been used by the Government of Alberta to kill wolves in an alleged attempt to recover the Little Smoky caribou population. While the wolf killing program is not based on scientific facts and is a false attempt to save caribou from habitat destruction by industry, the use of strychnine to kill wolves and non-target species is unacceptable. Death by strychnine ingestion is inhumane, as it causes frequent periods of tetanic seizures, occasional cessation of breathing, hyperthermia, extreme suffering, and death from exhaustion or asphyxiation, which typically occurs within 1–2 hours of the onset of clinical signs. However, death can take up to 24 hours or longer if the dose is low.
Since 1998, liquid strychnine has been re-introduced in our Canadian ecosystems to control northern pocket gophers and Richardson’s ground squirrels. However, scientific assessments of the efficacy of this poison to control these fossorial rodents showed that strychnine poison baits were unreliable and ineffective to control populations. Furthermore, their misuse by producers had led to the endangerment of carnivores in the Prairies, notably the American badger.
As a wildlife expert and a scientist who has conducted most of the strychnine evaluations in Canada, I strongly recommend that this poison be eradicated from our ecosystems, and I urge authorities to deny Alberta’s application to renew its permit to use strychnine to kill wolves and other wildlife.
