"Man free to kill gophers at will."

Organic Farmers Request Gopher Elimination, Caddyshack Style


By Jenny Shank, 7-13-06

 
 

Who knew Bill Murray and organic farmers had so much in common? According to an AP article in the Rocky Mountain News today ("Explosives eyed to exterminate gophers, others"), the state Wildlife Commission is meeting today to discuss whether to allow the use of explosive gases to eliminate rodents including "prairie dogs, ground squirrels, gophers, marmots and other burrowing creatures." Currently, it's illegal to use explosives to kill wildlife in the state of Colorado. Why do organic farmers seek to use such violent, Caddyshack-inspired means to eliminate problem rodents in their fields? The article quotes Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Tim Holeman, who said, "This is a way for them to avoid using toxic substances to help them remain certified as organic. It's a new tool for them."

According the article, the system works like this: "The gases, such as a mix of oxygen and propane, could be injected inside the burrows and then ignited, delivering a shock wave that kills the animals and collapses their tunnels." Organic farmers seeking to use such methods seems more than a little ironic--what's worse, pesticides in produce or animals burnt out of their homes? And you can bet that some animal advocates will protest if this plan moves ahead, particularly the pro-prairie dog folks, who I've learned you don't want to tangle with, especially in Boulder.

There is no word yet if the repretoire of acceptable extermination techniques will be expanded to included plastic explosives molded to look like gophers. As Bill Murray as Carl Spackler said, "To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint."



Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.

NEW WEST FEATURES                                                                 More>>

Advertisement

Comments

By Rose Mary, 7-13-06
By JBlack, 7-13-06
By Rose Mary, 7-13-06
By Robert Hoskins, 7-13-06
By Rose Mary, 7-13-06
By JBlack, 7-13-06
By Rose Mary, 7-13-06
By Robert Hoskins, 7-13-06
By Rose Mary, 7-14-06
By DM, 7-16-06
By Rose Mary, 7-17-06
By DM, 7-17-06
By Rose Mary, 7-17-06
By John, 7-20-06
By Rose Mary, 7-21-06
By Rose Mary, 7-23-06
By leannwestmoreland, 9-01-09

Comment policy:

NewWest.Net encourages robust and lively, but civil participation from our readers. By posting here, you agree to the NewWest.Net terms of service. You agree to keep your comments on topic, respectful and free of gratuitous profanity. Contributions that engage in personal attacks, racism, sexism, bigotry, hatred or are otherwise patently offensive will be subject to removal.

Other than using a filter that scans for comment spam, we do not moderate contributions before they are posted and we do not review every thread, so we ask that you help us in keeping the discussions civil and appropriate. Please email info@newwest.net to notify us of comments that may violate these guidelines. Thanks for your help and cooperation. Click here for some tips on how to best interact on NewWest.Net.

Your Comment

Name

Email

Remember my name and email address.

Notify me of follow-up comments.

 

Marketplace