In August, we found a dead red-tailed hawk on the deck of our cottage on Borden Drive in Northern Bruce Peninsula. We did not want to dispose of the bird by throwing it in the garbage or into the brush, and after several phone calls and a google search contacted the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative at the University of Guelph.
They were very interested in the bird and arranged for us to deliver it to a veterinarian in Wiarton, who then forwarded it to the Cooperative. They conducted a necropsy and found that the bird was a very emaciated juvenile, and it tested negative for Avian influenza and West Nile virus.
We don’t know how common it is for residents on the Peninsula to discover dead or sick animals, but from conversations with friends and neighbours it does occur. We had not previously heard of the Collective, nor had other people we talked to.
The Collective’s website is: https://www.cwhc-rcsf.ca, and their toll free phone number is: 866.673.4781. The website has an online reporting tool that is easy to use.
Pat and Mary O’Rourke
“The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative is a collection of highly qualified people within a cross-Canada network of partners and collaborators dedicated to wildlife health.
We provide a Canada-wide perspective on wildlife health at the same time as helping to identify and assess emerging problems at a local level.
Our research creates new wildlife health information and identifies ways to translate that knowledge into action. All of these activities work toward the goal of creating awareness of the importance of wildlife health and providing credible and trustworthy information to affect positive change at a local, national and international level.”
Source: Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative website – https://www.cwhc-rcsf.ca
