When the first highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak occurred in Ontario in March 2022, the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) Ontario/Nunavut node significantly increased the annual number of wildlife cases brought in compared to the previous year: increasing from ~500 cases a year in 2021 to 1,278 cases in 2022 and now 1,556 cases in 2025. To keep up with this increase, we put out a call to animal advocates across the province to ask for help, and an overwhelming number answered. We have since built a broad network of partners that now includes over 300 veterinary clinics, over 20 wildlife rehabilitation centres and rehabilitators, Humane Societies, various government agencies, Indigenous communities, members of the public, and many more who help us with our surveillance every year.
These partners support many aspects of our operations, from communicating wildlife health concerns to retrieving, storing, and shipping specimens for testing. With their aid we have been able to provide enhanced disease surveillance across a broader range of species and locations throughout Ontario. These individuals and organizations have graciously donated their time and resources to help our efforts, and we would like to take the time to thank them for all of their continued support.
As our work continues to grow, we are always looking for new partners who are interested in supporting our expanding operations. One of our biggest challenges, particularly during the summer months, is safely obtaining specimens for testing due to high temperatures and limited access to available freezer space. We welcome partnerships with organizations that may be able to provide freezer space used exclusively for non-food specimen storage to help us safely store wildlife specimens.
We also greatly appreciate receiving reports of sick and dead wildlife events. If you observe anything of concern, we encourage you to submit a report using our online reporting tool: http://cwhc.wildlifesubmissions.org, by calling us at 1-866-673-4781, or via email at on***@*******sf.ca.
Thank you again for your continued collaboration and support!
By: Jenna Matsuba & Kaitlyn Young