By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Is there no end to the cruelty we visit upon wild animals?

Mar 13, 2021 | 7:05 AM

THE WAR ON WILD ANIMALS continues. We’ve become very accomplished at terminating them with extreme prejudice.

The BC SPCA is calling for a national ban on a trio of familiar poisons that have caused wildlife agonizing deaths for decades. Strychnine, Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide have been alternately permitted, banned, then permitted again throughout North America and elsewhere.

They’re called “predacides” and are used in Canada against wolves, bears and coyotes in the name of protecting livestock as well as various wildlife species. They aren’t currently used in B.C. but they are in Alberta and Saskatchewan. A news release from the SPCA caught my eye this week. It wants people to sign a federal e-petition against the poisons.

The reason for the SPCA’s current concern is Health Canada’s recent decision not to use “humaneness” as a consideration when renewal of licences for the poisons comes up for review this spring.

“Health Canada will not be taking steps towards incorporating humaneness considerations into the pesticide risk assessment framework,” Health Canada said with typical bureaucratic lingo.

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It reminded me that the issue here in B.C. goes back more than 40 years to when Rafe Mair was the MLA for Kamloops and in cabinet as the provincial environment minister.

Though Mair was a Socred he was famous for his independent thinking and had no trouble crossing from right to left if he thought the situation called for it. Later in life he liked to call those in government “bastards” and other, less flattering words.

In 1978, Compound 1080 was a big public issue, with scores of letters to the editor demanding it be banned. Ranchers were using it as the go-to predator control, lacing bait carcases with the poison.

Along comes a wolf or coyote, eats some of the meat, and spends several days dying a horrible death. Of course, non-target creatures — such as lynx, foxes and ravens — that also dined on the bait suffered the same fate. And if another then ate those victims, 1080 just kept getting passed along, and being equally deadly.

So, Mair announced a moratorium. The agriculture community was not pleased. Cattle and sheep ranchers claimed the moratorium was putting their entire livelihoods at risk. There were the usual accusations that the ban was driven by urbanites who knew nothing of the real world. And yet, the agriculture industry survives and thrives in B.C.

None of the three poisons in question provides a humane death.

Compound 1080 doesn’t kill quickly, though the first symptoms often show up within a half hour. The predator (or the family dog if it’s unlucky enough to eat anything with 1080 in it), will begin vomiting, showing anxiety, disorientation and shaking, according to peta.org.

“These quickly develop into frenzied behaviour with running and screaming fits, drooling, uncontrolled paddling, and seizures, followed by total collapse and death.“ Another group, Predator Defense, says the agony can last from hours to days.

“Symptoms typically include a cycle of repeated vomiting, involuntary hyperextension of the limbs, convulsions, and collapse.”

Compound 1080 is so potent that animals eating tainted carcasses months later can die from it. Strychnine is no better. One description of its effects, in a story about Health Canada’s decision, says, “Animal science researchers have called strychnine a particularly painful and cruel way to die.

“Within 20 minutes of being dosed, muscles start to convulse. The convulsions increase in intensity and frequency until the backbone arches and the animal asphyxiates or dies of exhaustion.”

Cyanide is used mainly against coyotes. One method is a device called an M-44 cyanide injector, commonly known as a cyanide bomb, which is buried into the ground with a scent that attracts coyotes. When one of them touches, it, the bomb explodes cyanide powder into its face. Violent convulsions are followed by extreme anxiety and loss of bodily control. Domestic dogs make for frequent collateral damage.

Sodium cyanide is a cousin of hydrogen cyanide, used in the Nazi gas chambers during World War Two.

Wolves remain the main target for the other poisons, especially in Alberta, where habitat degradation has caused a decline in Caribou herds. Instead of dealing with the environment, the government uses wolves as a scapegoat.

Strychnine is used elsewhere to kill gophers and squirrels.

“Now is the time to tell Health Canada to ban the use of these poisons indefinitely,” says the BC SPCA, urging that the petition be signed before April 20.

The use of these poisons is against animal-welfare standards set by animal protection groups and veterinary associations everywhere, and against human decency. The fact that this is still an issue after so many years speaks to our sad inability to put “humane” into human.

There’s growing evidence that their use has little to no effect in reducing predation anyway.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.