Avian influenza, Chronic Wasting Disease, West Nile virus, Lyme Disease, Rabies: these are all diseases that we see in the news every day, and have dramatic impacts on our health and economy, as well as on our ecosystems. These diseases directly affect our health and well being, and impact our economy, causing millions of dollars of losses. It’s only through working together across institutional and disciplinary boundaries in a “One Health” approach that we are able to address these threats. In collaboration with our federal, provincial, and territorial partners, the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) is Canada’s national network for wildlife health surveillance, expertise, and response.
In other words, we at the CWHC detect emerging threats in wildlife, interpret what they mean for ecosystems, domestic animals, and people, and translate that knowledge into action to reduce risk. This is the foundation of One Health in Canada: understanding how the health of wildlife connects to the health of humans and the environment, and ensuring that partners across jurisdictions have the information they need to make informed decisions to reduce risks to ourselves, our agricultural economy, and to the environment.
Although we work closely with federal, provincial, and territorial partners, the CWHC is not a government agency. Our operations depend on a mosaic of resources: annual government grants, small contracts, project-based funding, and the voluntary contribution of wildlife health professionals across our 6 regional centres. This model has allowed us to serve the country for decades in a cost-effective manner, but it also comes with a structural challenge.
Our government partners work really hard to provide us funding, and we are eternally grateful. However, governments across the country are facing funding constraints of their own, and this is resulting in reduced funding and a decreased ability for us to monitor the health of wildlife in Canada.
Fewer dollars translates directly into fewer animals being tested for the diseases that affect us all.
To help solidify our core operations to ensure that we can continue to create and share the expertise and information necessary to mitigate wildlife diseases in Canada, we have launched an online donation option. Contributions of any size directly support the CWHC’s core functions: disease surveillance, diagnostic capacity, data management, reporting, and the partnerships that knit the country together in a One Health framework.
For individuals and organizations who value wildlife, healthy ecosystems, and evidence-based decision making, this is one of the most impactful ways to help.
If you would like to support this work, you can now make tax-deductible donations here: CWHC Donation Link.
Thank you so much for considering supporting the CWHC. Every contribution helps, and we greatly appreciate your support.
Damien Joly
CEO, CWHC