Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
Menu
When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.
Search
Quick Links
  • News
  • Sports
  • Radio
  • Music
  • Listen Live
  • TV
  • Watch
    • archives
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • History
    • Sports
      From 2001: A gopher-related 'emergency' in Saskatchewan | CBC Loaded

      From 2001: A gopher-related 'emergency' in Saskatchewan

      The gophers didn't know it, but they were digging up trouble for themselves.

      Farmers sought access to stronger poison to help control 'explosion' of gopher population

      CBC Archives · Posted: Jun 12, 2019 10:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 12, 2024

      Too many gophers digging up trouble

      24 years ago
      Duration 2:12
      In 2001, Saskatchewan farmers were dealing with the problems of an increasing gopher population.

      Social Sharing

      The gophers didn't know it, but they were digging up trouble for themselves by doing their thing in Prairie fields.

      In the spring of 2001, The National was reporting on the expanding or "exploding" population of gophers — a.k.a. Richardson's ground squirrels — in the province of Saskatchewan.

      • CBC Archives | In the rat race, Alberta has always been winning
      • CBC Saskatchewan | Gophers declared 'pests' in Saskatchewan

      "They're cute, but these furry little rodents are causing a lot of trouble on farms and ranches in Saskatchewan," the CBC's Art Martin reported to viewers on June 12, 2001.

      "The number of gophers here has been growing steadily over the past few years, due in part to warmer winters and drier weather. Now it's being called a population explosion."

      Holes, hazards and poison

      Hole in ground
      The holes gophers were digging were causing hazards for farmers, their animals and their farm machinery. (The National/CBC Archives)

      What kind of trouble, exactly? The gophers were leaving holes in fields that then posed hazards to farmers, their animals, as well as their farm equipment.

      Poison could be used to limit the population of gophers, but as Martin reported, its use was strictly regulated.

      Bill Kloeckes, a pest control officer, said the grain-poison mix being used to target the gophers at that time was "not quite strong enough" to kill them.

      "I think they tend to nibble on it and they get sick before they eat enough to do themselves in," he told CBC News.

      Push for stronger poison

      Man in plaid shirt and hat with peak
      Bill Kloeckes, a pest control officer, told CBC News that the poison being used against gophers in 2001 was not strong enough to kill them in most cases. (The National/CBC Archives)

      Farmers living in neighbouring Alberta had dealt with similar gopher problems earlier that year. But they had sought and been granted permission from Ottawa to use what Martin described as "a more effective poison" against them.

      That's why a local municipality — identified in a Saskatoon StarPhoenix report as the Regional Municipality of Turtle River — declared a state of emergency that spring in a bid to spur the provincial government into action.

      "The tactic worked," said Martin, noting that the provincial government began preparing a request for Ottawa to grant the same permission to the Saskatchewan farmers.

      In July 2001, the StarPhoenix reported Ottawa had allowed the provincial government to buy and distribute a poison with a higher strychnine concentration to be used by farmers in specific parts of the province.

      Related Stories

      • Gophers declared 'pests' in Sask.
      • In the rat race, Alberta has always been winning

      CBC's Flashback Newsletter

      Add some “good” to your morning and evening.

      Sign up for this biweekly blast from the past, straight from the CBC Archives.

      ...

      The next issue of Flashback will soon be in your inbox.

      Discover all CBC newsletters in the Subscription Centre.opens new window

      This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply.

      Footer Links

      My Account

      • Profile
      • CBC Gem
      • Newsletters
      • About CBC Accounts

      Connect with CBC

      • Facebook
      • X
      • YouTube
      • Instagram
      • Mobile
      • RSS
      • Podcasts

      Contact CBC

      • Submit Feedback
      • Help Centre

      Audience Relations, CBC
      P.O. Box 500 Station A
      Toronto, ON
      Canada, M5W 1E6

      Toll-free (Canada only):
      1-866-306-4636

      About CBC

      • Corporate Info
      • Sitemap
      • Reuse & Permission
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy
      • Jobs
      • Our Unions
      • Independent Producers
      • Political Ads Registry
      • AdChoices

      Services

      • Ombudsman
      • Corrections and Clarifications
      • Public Appearances
      • Commercial Services
      • CBC Shop
      • Doing Business with Us
      • Renting Facilities
      • Radio Canada International
      • CBC Lite

      Accessibility

      It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges.

      Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem.

      • About CBC Accessibility
      • Accessibility Feedback
      • ©2025 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved.
      • Visitez Radio-Canada.ca

      now