'Impossible to control': Industry says rodenticides needed to manage pest infestations in B.C. amid calls for poison ban
As the owl advocacy group Rodenticide Free BC calls on the province to completely ban the use of rat poisons in B.C., retailers have begun pushing back on the idea.
Kelvin McCulloch is the president of Buckerfield’s, a home goods and outdoor gear company, and he says if an all-out ban were to happen, the rodent population in the province would rise out of control.
"Any feed store in British Columbia is always at risk of having mice and rats in it," said McCulloch.
At Buckerfield’s in Nanaimo, it wasn’t just a few pesky rodents that plagued the store.
"It was probably 10,000," said the president of Buckerfield’s.
Roughly $200,000 worth of inventory had to be thrown out. The store was closed for months as the walls were ripped apart to fix the damages caused by the mice and that cost around $300,000 itself.
McCulloch estimates that $500,000 worth of business was lost during the store's closure.
He says that if rodenticides were to be banned completely in British Columbia, there would be no way to effectively control the rodent population.
"It is impossible to control rodent infestations after the trapping rate is exceeded by the breeding rate," said McCulloch.
'A PERMANENT BAN'
Rodenticide Free BC is calling on the provincial government to all-out ban the use of the poison in B.C.
The call comes after several owls were believed to have died after consuming rodents that had ingested rat poisons on Vancouver Island.
The most recent owl was found dead near the Ministry of Environment building on Jutland Road in Victoria.
"We are asking for a permanent ban of rodenticides," said Deanna Pheifer with Rodenticide Free BC.
Currently, there is an 18-month ban on the use of rodenticides in B.C. That policy is set to expire in January 2023.
The poison can still be used by licensed pest control companies around buildings that are deemed an essential service.
"So this is our current inventory of rodenticide in the Nanaimo store," said McCulloch as he unlocked a secure storage shed outside the back of the Buckerfield’s store.
Buckerfield’s sells rodenticide, but McCullock says it’s only because customers continue to ask for it. Even then, unless the customer asking is a certified farmer or pest control operator, the store can’t sell it to them.
He says the problem with the current ban or an all-out ban is that it’s not based on hard data. Nobody really knows for sure how bad the rodent population is, nor does anyone know the actual number of predator birds that are dying after eating a poisoned rodent.
"We are not interested in having owls harmed in any way," said McCulloch. "We have been selling rodenticides for as long as they’ve been around and to my knowledge we still have a healthy owl population in the province."
In the meantime, McCulloch says rodenticides are needed and he has thoughts on a solution.
McCulloch would like the see the government set up an online registry system where people who have rodent infestations can apply for a one-time permit to purchase the poison themselves and use it on their property. This would also allow the province to get some hard data on problem rodent populations, he says.
"What needs to happen is the province needs to decide that it is going to control rat and mouse infestations," said McCulloch.
A registry would allow the province to know the extent of infestations, and provide a database that it can refer to, says McCulloch.
"It’s going to have the ability to facilitate or enable people to take care of the infestations in their homes and their businesses properly," he said.
He says right now, relying on pest control companies that are often too busy to respond is not effectively working.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.