Winnipeg animal welfare advocates warn against use of pesticides on ground squirrels

The City of Winnipeg is asking the province for permission to use pesticides to control ground squirrel population at several athletic fields, but animal welfare advocates argue the proposed methods could causes unnecessary suffering.

The city of Winnipeg says ground squirrels are common in Winnipeg and cause a problem for park maintenance. The City says they dig holes that destroy athletic fields and other green spaces, posing a safety hazard for athletes and pedestrians. 

But Kaitlyn Mitchell, director of legal advocacy at animal justice, says she is concerned about the impact these pesticides could have on other animals as well.

“I’ve actually heard from folks who have seen these products use in other provinces and they said ‘we had ground squirrels walking around bleeding out of their eyeballs’ no child wants to see that, I really don’t think that’s what we want our parks to be like in this city,” Mitchell said.

The proposed pesticides meant for ground squirrels could have a wider impact, according to Mitchell.

“Cats and dogs and other animals can be poisoned too,” Mitchell explained. “So we will see widespread suffering, and I really don’t think that’s something that Winnipeggers want to see or that we think is an acceptable risk.”

Mitchell said there are more humane ways to manage ground squirrel population that don’t rely on pesticides. The products the city of Winnipeg wants to use are made to kill ground squirrels slowly.

“The first one is poison bats, which are an anticoagulant, so any animal that eats them essentially loses the ability to form blood clots and dies of internal bleeding, it takes days, it’s hard to imagine a worst way to die and then the second one is this poison foam,” Mitchell said.

“A suffocating foam that is kind of pumped into the burrows and suffocates the animals inside, but it’s notoriously ineffective because unless you plug every single hole the animals don’t necessarily die. So you just see animal suffering, panicking for no reason,” Mitchell added.

In a statement to CityNews, the city of Winnipeg said the pesticide would pose “limited risk” to other animals and humans.

If the province approved the pesticide, the City said it will have measures in place.

“We would monitor treatment sites daily and promptly remove any dead animals. We would also place signage at the treatment site 24 hours in advance and keep it in place until 24 hours post treatment,” the City said.