They say there are “too many gophers.”

 They say there are “too many gophers.”

So the solution? Bring back poison.

In Alberta and Saskatchewan, emergency use of Strychnine is being approved again to deal with exploding populations of Richardson's ground squirrel.

But here’s the part that doesn’t get said loud enough:

Those “gophers”?
They feed the system.

🦉 Burrowing owl depend on them.
🦅 Hawks rely on them.
🦊 Foxes and coyotes hunt them.

So what happens when poison enters the chain?

It doesn’t stop at the gopher.

It moves upward.
Silent. Invisible. Efficient.

And suddenly the very animals that help keep balance… disappear too.

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We’ve seen this pattern before:

🐇 European rabbit in Australia → explosion, then desperate control measures

🦛 Hippos in Colombia → introduced by Pablo Escobar, now “too many”

🐘 Elephants once blamed for destroying land—until we realized they were shaping it

Different species. Same story.

Humans change the system…
Then blame the animals for reacting to it.

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Yes—farmers are dealing with real damage.
Yes—something has to be done.

But here’s the uncomfortable question:

Are we solving a problem…
or managing the consequences of a system we created?

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Because once poison becomes the solution,
we’re not restoring balance—

we’re deciding, quietly,

which parts of the ecosystem get to survive.

😔🌾🦉

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#Gophers #Strychnine #WildlifeManagement #Ecosystems #FoodChain #Canada #Alberta #Saskatchewan #BurrowingOwl #EnvironmentalQuestions #WhoDecides