Our work isn't done. There is strength in numbers, and we are growing by the day, but we need these numbers to reach those in power and ensure that they hear us. I've taken the steps to meet this goal.

I have prepared an email that is being sent to the University of Saskatchewan's President and additional Representatives. This email is meant to push for the end of the use of rodenticides on campus, to see a conscious effort to choose more sustainable and humane forms of ground squirrel population control, and to actively counsel the surrounding communities and local organizations on topics that pertain to and ultimately affect them, too. 

In the interest of transparency and keeping you all involved in the fight to bring this issue to the top of the University's agenda, I have pasted the email below:

"Dear President Stoicheff,

I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Alyssa Vibert, and I am a wildlife biologist and University of Saskatchewan Environmental Biology alumni. As a USask alum, I've been a silent supporter of the University and have always been proud to boast that the University has been a huge proponent of environmental and sustainability change over the years.

Since graduating with my degree and certificates in 2021, I have had numerous opportunities, professionally and voluntarily, to apply the skills I have learned while at the U of S in various roles. Of my experiences in this field, from 2020 to today, my most notable work has been my active role with our local wildlife rehabilitation centre. From performing duties as a wildlife technician, attending rescues of imperilled wildlife, to doing more administrative roles today, I have had the fortune and misfortune of seeing all different types of wildlife come into the centre for numerous reasons. From windowstrike birds to cat-caught rabbits, grounded bats to orphaned waterfowl, I’ve had the opportunity to experience it all.

Unfortunately, this means I’ve seen my fair share of wildlife in pain of varying degrees. Over the past couple of months, however, I have noticed a substantial increase in the number of Richardson's ground squirrels, in particular, that come in in various stages of dying or are already dead, killed by poison or suffering from the effects of the anticoagulants put out by the U of S. From the decelerating heart rate, deep and heavy breathing, tremors, seizures, and visible hemorrhaging, I've had to be an unwilling participant in watching them endure unimaginable pain. I have seen firsthand what this poison does to the tiny ground squirrel bodies. There is nearly nothing available to reverse the effects of such horrific internal damage, and it is this position as a reluctant bystander to the ground squirrels' agony that moves me to act.

After witnessing the devastating and traumatic distress of the Richardson’s ground squirrels found on campus over the summer, I started the petition titled End the Use of Rodenticides on University of Saskatchewan Grounds on July 2nd, 2024. The petition has garnered over 6100 signatures,  34,000 views, 1200 shares, and 53 promotions in one month. These numbers are just a start; with plans to get the message out further, the numbers will only grow.

I want you to consider the number 6100. This number represents students, members of the public, and alums who want the University of Saskatchewan to cease using rodenticides to control ground squirrel populations. Six thousand and one hundred people condemn the University of Saskatchewan's use of anticoagulant rodenticides for the torture it inflicts upon the ground squirrels and its impact on the surrounding environment and overall biodiversity on campus.

The numbers speak for themselves; from community members to current students and alums, the signatures and comments attached to this petition directly reflect the community's disappointment over the University of Saskatchewan's inaction on this issue and the unwillingness to listen or consider alternatives. Please work with us, the community, to create solutions to the problems that face us which are forward-looking and sustainable.

Other advocates' previous attempts over the years to engage you on this topic have been fruitless, as the responses have come from your representatives, who are not the message’s intended recipients. I am bringing this issue to your attention because you greatly influence the University of Saskatchewan's internal functioning and outward appearance. I hope you deem these matters important and worthy of your time.

My efforts aren't just a matter of want for raising awareness of the U of S' actions; it's a call for help to end the needless suffering of local wildlife populations that encompass far more than what your grounds maintenance personnel deem to be the 'targets.' As a leading contributor to the knowledge and research conducted in the environmental sciences, I expect the University of Saskatchewan to understand the impact of rodenticides on the environment. When has any poison been successful in targeting just one species?

Take, for example, the research of your very own professors, those who study the effects of neonicotinoids on songbirds and how, despite the purpose of pesticides for ridding crops of insect pests and other blights, they are having a direct and devastating impact on migratory bird populations across the world. That said, the University of Saskatchewan also makes a point to mention their goals for "integrated pest management" practices being used on campus to negate the use of insecticides and pesticides in their groundskeeping. Thus, this statement directly contradicts the actions of the University of Saskatchewan, as evidenced by the Richardson’s ground squirrel bodies that can be found throughout campus grounds, either writhing in agony as they hemorrhage and slowly bleed to death or the already deceased carcasses littering the ground as easy prey that endangers both wild and domestic scavengers alike.

The University of Saskatchewan has a responsibility to choose methods of population control that are ethical, humane and environmentally conscious. They also have the responsibility to uphold the values and goals outlined in the Office of Sustainability's Sustainable Grounds Management of Outdoor Spaces1, one of which outlines their work on Integrated Pest Management that involves "a variety of techniques and strategies … to eliminate or reduce the need for pesticides." Why would this goal not include rodenticides? Rodenticides are pesticides that kill rodents. The same statement outlines the University's ideals, emphasizing that "how we design, maintain, and use our outdoor spaces has sustainability implications." If your idea of sustainability includes opting for the most convenient Band-Aid solutions, I urge you to reconsider the options. The statement also mentions, "…Facilities Management Division's Grounds Department strives to maintain and develop this landscape using the most sustainable practices possible, " a standard that poison cannot meet.

It is time for the University of Saskatchewan to shift its approach and lead other universities nationwide to adopt ethical and viable solutions to population management on campus grounds. According to the University Plan 2025 Sustainability Strategy, Commitment 3, Empower to Action2, "The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a great opportunity for research-intensive universities to enhance the cognitive realm and move beyond into other realms, unlearning some things and learning some new ways of seeing and of being. A shift in values [is needed] as, societally, we have become accustomed to living our lives based on values that are increasingly at odds with a sustainable planet (Hoffman, 2019). This shift is one of the most challenging things to achieve; it requires grassroots changes, combined with formal (rules and regulations) and informal (norms) changes, to deeply root these changes in society". Using poison on campus is at odds with living on a sustainable planet. Not only does secondary poisoning affect other animals, but the suffering of the target species is unnecessary to achieve the desired population-reducing results. Additionally, grassroots changes come locally – use and learn from the 'ordinary' people that comprise the main body of the University's populace, the surrounding communities, the public, and other organizations to come to these changes. It's time the University of Saskatchewan unlearns the historical ways of ground squirrel population control via poison and starts transitioning into sustainable and environmentally conscious ways of population control.

Large-scale organizations have long been making statements about who they are and their goals and values, but only some have ever stuck to them. What makes the U of S any different? Nothing. They continue to prove to the public that despite their own researchers' work, they aren't willing to look at the science to assist their decision-making processes and would use convenience where it suits them. This blatant hypocrisy is disrespectful to all who see these statements made by the University of Saskatchewan and give their support in hopes that they are contributing to an environmentally oriented institution, when in fact, the statement is just that: words that do not hold power over the choices made by the U of S.

If, instead, these statements are for prospects the University plans to work towards, why not start here and now? What is holding the University of Saskatchewan back from joining the ranks of other institutions and organizations that condemn the use of these ancient, traditional population control methods instead of ethical and sustainable practices that are efficient and humane?

Dr. Stoicheff, I implore you to review my petition and this email. If you aren't, you should be made aware of the damages caused by the University of Saskatchewan's choices and the community's expectations that you will consider the alternatives and change the current practices used by the University. Review each comment and signature made on this petition, consider who each person is, what their support of the University means, and what the loss of their support means.

I conclude this letter with a question: How many signatures will it take for the University of Saskatchewan to acknowledge the harm their current ground squirrel population management inflicts on the environment and for them to switch courses in favour of more humane methodologies? Change must happen for the University of Saskatchewan's reputation, the local biodiversity distributed across campus grounds, and the surrounding communities and alums that do not support the continuation of these actions.

I anticipate a considerable effort in reading and reviewing this email and my attached petition, which can lead to further discussion regarding the discontinuation of rodenticide use on campus. I believe this is an important and impactful step in the right direction for the U of S and can mean leading the way in effectively maintaining ground squirrel control on campus ethically and sustainably.

Respectfully Yours,

Alyssa Vibert

References:

1 Outdoor Spaces - Office of Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan (usask.ca)

2 Sustainability Strategy - University Plan 2025 | University of Saskatchewan (usask.ca)

End the Use of Rodenticides on University of Saskatchewan Grounds petition link:

https://www.change.org/banrodenticidesatUSASK"

Please continue to share this petition in any way you can: make posters and share them with friends and family, coworkers and classmates; share the petition link to your social media channels; leave a comment on the petition and add your name to our numbers. Every little bit helps. I can't thank everyone enough for their help thus far.