City of Winnipeg to use sulphur gas on ground squirrel population in 8 parks
Animal rights advocate calls for use of non-lethal and humane methods like instantaneous death or trapping
The City of Winnipeg is planning to use a sulphur gas to control an overpopulation of Richardson ground squirrels in eight parks this summer — a method that some animal rights advocates say is inhumane.
City workers switched to using carbon monoxide to kill the rodents after community members raised concerns about the sulphur gas a decade ago, but the city found it was unsafe for staff and returned to using the pesticide a few years back, said David Domke, who manages the city's parks and open space division.
Eight out of 1,000 city parks with the highest populations of ground squirrels will be targeted starting May 20 to ensure they can safely be used recreationally. The ground squirrels create holes in the ground, which can be a hazard for people and their pets.
The parks to be targeted are:
- Charleswood Place.
- Theodore Niitzhotay Fontaine Park.
- Fairgrove Bay Park.
- Shaughnessy Park.
- Weston Memorial Community Centre.
- St. James Memorial Sports Park.
- Beryl Watts Park.
- Vince Leah Community Centre.
"It's really about public safety from our perspective. I don't think we get any, you know, joy out of undertaking these kinds of tasks. We do so because we feel we need to," Domke said.
These are the only parks that will be targeted this summer, he said.
The city has previously tried controlling the population by covering poison with peanut butter, but this method attracted non-targeted species, he said. Workers have also explored the possibility of trap and release, which brought up the question about where to release the animals.
"No one really wants them in their own backyard," he said, adding that it could be worse for the ground squirrels to be released in a new environment where they may not have the same resources.
Domke said killing the ground squirrels is a controversial issue and city workers are looking at other options to deal with the population humanely in the future, but for now they will use a pesticide called The Giant Destroyer followed by immediately covering the holes with sand. This will prevent any animals like dogs or coyotes from eating an affected rodent that escaped a hole before it died.
Animal advocacy lawyer Krista Boryskavich at the Winnipeg Humane Society said non-lethal animal control methods are preferable, but when that isn't possible, the group encourages methods where death is quick to avoid suffering or distress.
But she believes this isn't the case with use of The Giant Destroyer.
"The understanding that we have of this method of pest control is that it is not instantaneous, that it can sometimes take up to an hour to actually result in death to the animal," Boryskavich said.
"So that's up to an hour of potential suffering, distress and that's provided that it's actually reaching the animals that it's targeted to reach."
The Winnipeg Humane Society would like the city to prioritize using non-lethal and humane methods in the future such as using a pesticide that kills the rodents instantly or through trapping and consistent hole covering as a form of deterrence.
Winnipegger Mikayla Mcnabb-Mary said she has mixed feelings about the population management program.
"I can understand like it is becoming kind of a pest thing, but they're so cute," she said. "To me, my family, we love them, we love seeing them. They bring us so much joy."
Brad Nance, another resident in Winnipeg, said he understands how they could cause problems, but hopes there's a better solution.
"When I see them taking a walk I always call out and say 'hi brother squirrel, how you doing?' You know, they provide great entertainment."
Last month Vivian Santos, the city councillor for Point Douglas — where four of the targeted athletic fields are located — said she understands people's concerns about killing the animals, but says the city ultimately needs to protect the safety of people and their pets.
The city received a report of a dog that injured its leg by running through a field with numerous holes in the past.
"It's not an easy decision but I have to think about the youth and being able to offer them affordable recreational spaces to be used this summer," she said on CBC's Information Radio with host Faith Fundal.
"Someone could actually step in a hole and break or sprain their ankle. That is a huge risk the City of Winnipeg can't be liable for and so we need to mitigate that risk."
The city will look into exploring other alternatives to killing the ground squirrels such as carbon dioxide treatments, she said.
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With files from Chidi Ekuma and Maggie Wilcox