Search Results for: wildlife

Please note—as a result of the COVID-19 public health crisis, we have suspended our in-person Humane Education School Program.

Please visit our Off-Leash Camp @Home video series and our curriculum-linked, online lesson plans to add some animal-themed excitement to your classroom!

We will continue to update our site, as we resume operations.

If you find a sick or injured wild animal, here are the steps you can take. If you need more help, call the City of Ottawa at 311.

From the squirrel that raids your birdfeeder to the foxes that frisk in the distance, learn about these creatures and their habits to make peaceful coexistence easier. And in some cases, a greater understanding could even transform fear into interest.

Read our Wildlife FAQs

Live trapping may seem like an immediate and easy fix to your wildlife problem; however, it is only a temporary solution. Read our take on why trapping and relocating is a bad idea.

If you can’t find the answer to your wildlife question and it’s not an emergency, contact the Ottawa Humane Society at 613-725-3166 ext. 221, or send us an email.

In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes described the life of humans without government as “Nasty, brutish, and short.”  It is also an apt description of the lives of feral cats.  

A feral cat is distinct from a stray cat, even if the cat has been stray for a long period of time, and from a “loosely-owned” or “porch” cat, a cat that is fed by one or more people in a neighbourhood who do not accept full responsibility for the cat’s care.  Stray and loosely-owned cats are or were once socialized to humans.  They may be wary and skittish around humans if they have not a had recent or extensive human contact, but they are not fearful to the extent that feral cats are.

Feral cats occupy a grey zone in the world of animal welfare.  They are not wildlife per se.  They are interlopers in our natural world and can cause considerable destruction in wild bird and mammal populations.  They were introduced through human irresponsibility, and therefore are a human responsibility.

But they are not fully domestic pets either.  They cannot just be rounded up and socialized.  Kittens up to four months can be socialized, but adults will frequently injure themselves trying to escape when confined. Their panic in prolonged confinement is simply not humane. 

Most progressive humane societies like the OHS practice “TNR” or “Trap, Neuter, Return” to address the needs of feral cats.   Feral cats are removed from a colony, sterilized, vaccinated, and then returned to the colony.  If newly introduced cats—new stray cats and the feral’s kittens—are consistently removed, the colony will disappear over time.   Studies indicate that simply removing all the members of a colony does not work.  Nature, as they say, abhors a vacuum and other cats simply come to occupy the vacant colony, generally because of its proximity to shelter, food and water.  The effectiveness of TNR was proven with the gradual elimination of the Parliament Hill Colony by some amazingly committed volunteers and the OHS a few years ago.

Like so many issues in animal welfare, controversies rage, and numbers of animals often exceed our resources to help.   There are likely dozens of colonies in the Ottawa area, possibly many more. In fact, one of these controversies is how many feral cats there actually are in a given community. The OHS helps a handful of colony “caretakers” with surgical and other medical services, and we are very proud of our role in humanely eliminating the Parliament Hill colony, but our efforts are likely the proverbial drop in the bucket.  Our best hope is education and promoting the kind of responsibility that would stop feral cats from coming into existence in the first place, through spaying and neutering cats and not letting them roam.  And this takes time.

Bruce Roney
President & CEO

Originally published in September, 2014

Everyone who cares about animals was disappointed to see the charges against Marineland dropped last week. Later, we were alarmed to hear about yet another round of complaints about Papanack Zoo stemming from shocking undercover footage of the conditions there.

Papanack is closer to home. In fact, it is just outside of the jurisdiction of the OHS in an area long-served by the OSPCA. Of course, many of the zoo’s visitors are from Ottawa, and we have received many dozen complaints about it over my 17 years at the OHS; all were passed on to the OSPCA when received.

Across the country most complaints about these profit-making operations are based on the kind of limited protections available to animals under current legislation, such as access to food, water, shelter, etc. But here’s the thing: these issues are beside the point. Let’s move beyond whether animals in zoos and aquaria are cared for to a minimally acceptable standard and agree that their time is over. Like their travelling cousins, the circuses, the time of zoos and aquaria has passed. We know better now. Animals need more than food and water. They need to be with their own species. They need to live in social groups. They need to express natural behaviours.

That is why we are supporting the call from our national partner, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, for the formation of a federal/provincial task force to study the high number of animal deaths in Canada’s zoos, aquaria and other captive wildlife facilities and to determine a new animal protection framework for the industry. We hope that this process will result in real change. And, I hope, one day the end to these inherently inhumane businesses.

Bruce Roney
Executive Director

Yesterday was National Feral Cat Day. I hope you will take a moment to think about these neglected felines. These cats live a hard life—one that is nasty, brutish and short.

A feral cat, defined by Alley Cat Allies is, “…a cat who has either never had any contact with humans or her contact with humans has diminished over time. She is fearful of people and survives on her own outdoors.”

A feral cat is distinct from a stray cat, even if the cat has been stray for a long period of time, and from a “loosely-owned” or “porch” cat, a cat that is fed by one or more people in a neighbourhood who do not accept full responsibility for the cat’s care. Stray and loosely-owned cats are or were once socialized to humans. They may be wary and skittish around humans if they have not a had recent or extensive human contact, but they are not fearful to the extent that feral cats are.

Feral cats occupy a grey zone in the world of animal welfare. They are not wildlife per se.  They are interlopers in our natural world and can cause considerable destruction in wild bird and mammal populations.  They were introduced through human irresponsibility, and therefore are a human responsibility.

But they are not fully domestic pets either. They cannot just be rounded up and socialized. Kittens up to four months can be socialized, but adults will frequently injure themselves trying to escape when confined. Their panic in prolonged confinement is simply not humane. 

Most progressive humane societies like the OHS practice “TNR” or “Trap, Neuter, Return” to address the needs of feral cats.   Feral cats are removed from a colony, sterilized, vaccinated, and then returned to the colony. If newly introduced cats—new stray cats and the feral’s kittens—are consistently removed, the colony will disappear over time. Studies indicate that simply removing all the members of a colony does not work. Nature, as they say, abhors a vacuum and other cats simply come to occupy the vacant colony, generally because of its proximity to shelter, food and water. The effectiveness of TNR was proven with the gradual elimination of the Parliament Hill Colony by some amazingly committed volunteers and the OHS a few years ago.

Like so many issues in animal welfare, controversies rage, and numbers of animals often exceed our resources to help. There are likely dozens of colonies in the Ottawa area, possibly many more. In fact, one of these controversies is how many feral cats there actually are in a given community. The OHS helps a handful of colony “caretakers” with surgical and other medical services, and we are very proud of our role in humanely eliminating the Parliament Hill colony, but our efforts are likely the proverbial drop in the bucket.  Our best hope is education and promoting the kind of responsibility that would stop feral cats from coming into existence in the first place, through spaying and neutering cats and not letting them roam. The OHS’s own Mobile Spay Neuter Program is expected to make a significant reduction in the numbers of feral cats, but this takes time.

Bruce Roney
President and CEO

If an animal’s life is in immediate distress as a result of cruelty or neglect, please contact the police at 911. For non-urgent calls about animal neglect or cruelty, please contact the Ottawa Police Service at 613-236-1222 ext. 7300.

If you find a sick or injured stray animal with no owner in sight, or a wild animal, call the City of Ottawa at 311.

For non-urgent wildlife issues, click here.

Emergency clinics in Ottawa

Once an animal is rescued, it is brought to the Ottawa Humane Society or a veterinary clinic (outside of regular OHS hours) for an exam and to be stabilized. If the animal has extensive injuries and is in immediate distress, and where the owner cannot be located within a reasonable amount of time, the animal may be humanely euthanized to prevent further suffering. All decisions on treatment and euthanasia are made in consultation with a veterinarian.

The OHS makes every attempt to find the owner — but please do your part by ensuring that your animal companions are identified with a microchip, collar and tag. If the animal’s owner is located, he or she is required to reimburse the OHS for all expenses incurred in caring for their pet.

If you have been bitten or scratched by a stray animal, please seek immediate medical attention and contact the City of Ottawa at 311.

Obedience classes and training have many benefits.

It’s been quite a few years since I have had a dog in my home life. At the OHS, I am lucky to meet a lot of dogs, but a dog of my own just hasn’t been compatible with my busy work and personal life. As demanding as she can be, my cat Gracie — the Siamese who must be obeyed — doesn’t need as much time as the average dog. So, I have deferred adopting a dog to my retirement. 

My last dog was a cocker spaniel. While sweet, and by no means truly badly behaved, Jennie could be a handful. I didn’t take her to obedience classes and I regret this now. Many OHS staff have outstandingly wonderful dogs. I realized over the years that the dogs didn’t come that way. They are great dogs because our staff made an investment of time and effort in training and obedience. 

Obedience classes can strengthen the bond between dogs and their owners.

I have learned my lesson and when I finally bring a dog into my life again, I will spend the time to “create” a wonderful dog with classes. Most people want a dog with good manners and social skills when interacting with people, they want a dog that doesn’t jump up, scare children, or pull on the leash, and can respond to at least simple commands. Classes and training between classes can to do this. Moreover, studies suggest that classes and training enhance the communication and bond between people and their dogs. The time spent has many rewards.

Classes can save a dog’s life. By learning to recall, you can prevent her from being  hit by a car or attacked by wildlife or unknown dogs. They can lessen or eliminate those behaviours that can make living with a dog a minor hell: destructiveness, excessive barking, and house soiling for example. 

I have learned my lesson; I have been converted. My next dog will be wonderful. She may not be born that way, but that’s okay. I am going to help her become wonderful.

Bruce Roney
Executive Director

My Facebook feed declared last night that the Western Black Rhinoceros had been declared officially extinct. I was sad. I have never seen one and now never would. The world — my world — felt diminished without this creature in it. Because of the prevalence of false news on social media, I decided to make sure the story was true. Snopes, my go to source for reality, confirmed the story. The demise of Western Black Rhino has indeed happened. In 2006. Okay, that doesn’t make it any better. But I am glad I took the time to check the story and didn’t share it.

Letter from the Animal People Forum.

Similarly, yesterday, I received a letter from an organization called Animal People Forum. The postmark was Jamaica, New York, though with a mailing address in the state of Washington. Overall the piece looked a bit odd. And despite my 17 years in animal welfare, I had never heard of this organization. So, I went to their website. I looks pretty good. But you have to read it carefully. They have four projects. One is called, “Beyond Human: Animals, Aliens and Artificial Intelligence.” Yikes. I’m glad I checked that one out too.

This all made me wonder how many letters hit our supporters’ mailboxes, and whether people check out what they receive. In my experience, people who care about animals are a very kind bunch. They want to help. Sadly, this can be taken advantage of. And there are groups that range from misleading and dubious to outright frauds ready to take advantage.

I would never presume to tell anyone the causes they should support but I hope and pray that people ensure that they are really supporting the issue they intend. It only takes little thought and a little research.

First, what are the issues you care about? Mainly domestic pets? Wildlife? Are you mainly concerned about local issues? National? International? All of the above? Do you want to support actual care for animals or do you think that awareness and advocacy are really going to affect change? Having considered these questions before that very emotional appeal hits your mailbox can help you to make sure your hard-earned cash does what you want it to.

The second consideration is whether the organization asking you for cash actually does what it says — or implies. A quick review of their website is sometimes all you need to do. What does this organization actually do? Be careful here, I have a seen some misleading practices. A few sites show animals for adoption, but none of the animals are actually in the care of that organization, just adoptable animals pulled from other websites. An organization may highlight an important issue, but it’s not clear what they are doing about it. I am very concerned about the loss of the Western Black Rhino, but the OHS website does not imply that we did anything to try to prevent it. Beware too of small gestures that are expensive and may not add up to significant change. Sending a staff team to China to adopt a few dogs from the meat markets and fly them back to Canada may raise awareness, and it certainly saves some canine lives, but is supporting the flights the best way to close the markets? Is it where you want to invest your money?

Other places you can check are the Canada Revenue Agency charities listings. Every registered charity in Canada is listed and you can easily find out how they spend their money with a few clicks. And if they are not a registered charity, ask yourself why not?

If it is a humane society asking for your support, are they a member of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS)? Most are. And another few clicks on the CFHS site can tell you.

The OHS is one of only two humane societies in Canada to achieve accreditation with Imagine Canada

You can always call us at the OHS too. We won’t provide a recommendation, but we sometimes can provide some basic facts and we will tell you if we work with a particular group. I hope that in the not-too-distant future accreditation of various sorts will help us all in separating the legitimate and effective from the dubious and misleading. That is why the OHS sought and achieved accreditation with Imagine Canada for excellence in board governance, financial accountability, fundraising, staff management, and volunteer involvement last year. We wanted to support this direction among not-for-profits and wanted to assure our community of supporters of our commitment.

Few charities have achieved this, and only one other humane society in Canada, the British Columbia SPCA, has done so to date. I am not suggesting that those that haven’t are not legitimate, but I look forward to a day when you and I can rely on this and other forms of accreditation to assure that our kindness is not exploited.

Until then, you and I can do it ourselves, through a little thought and a little research.

Bruce Roney
Executive Director