City staff say additional Toronto Animal Services (TAS) workers are now being assigned to help with the overwhelming number of service requests, and staff from other areas of the city will be hired in the coming days.
“Beginning next week, the Council will also deploy additional staff resources from Solid Waste Management Services and Transport Services to assist with body collection. This multi-departmental effort will help with the unprecedented level of requests for mortuary services, which has now reached more than 900 requests citywide,” city staff said in a news release Thursday.
TAS announced a raccoon outbreak earlier this week as it faced an influx of service requests for dead and sick raccoons showing symptoms related to the virus in recent months.
Distemper is a disease commonly found in raccoons but can also be contracted by dogs. Confused raccoons may act disoriented or lethargic, have seizures, approach people, and may become aggressive if cornered.
“The current outbreak is centered in Toronto-Danforth and Beaches-East York. Outbreaks typically occur between May and November and will disappear when cooler weather arrives,” city staff wrote. “The Council is monitoring this issue closely and has noticed a slight decrease in requests for services during the first week of November.”
TAS told CP24 earlier this week that the average response time to receive bodies in the city was between 12 and 14 days, compared to the typical 48 hours.
Mayor John Tory thanked city staff for their efforts in dealing with the large number of pickup requests throughout the city.
“This multi-part effort will help address some of the issues we are seeing now with wildlife and is an important step in ensuring we continue to have the clean and sustainable city that residents and businesses expect,” wrote Tory.
Earlier this week, Toronto-Danforth Ward 14 councilor Paula Fletcher called on city staff to use an “emergency stand” to immediately expedite the process of collecting dead wildlife.
In a Nov. 8 letter from Fletcher to the Interim City Manager, she reiterated her request for city staff to “use whatever resources are necessary” to pick up dead animals within 48 hours of a service request during the rabies outbreak .
We are seeing an unprecedented increase in the number of calls for dead wildlife. I wrote to the City Manager asking that all necessary resources be used to speed things up.
Toronto has a ‘huge’ roadkill problem, staff struggling to keep up: pic.twitter.com/TODSVjZgu6 — Paula Fletcher (@PaulaFletcherTO) November 9, 2022 Fletcher noted that in August there were 54 calls to 311 — the city’s non-emergency line — about injured and dead wildlife, and then a huge jump to 3,223 calls in September and 3,769 calls in October, according to city data. . “Additionally, for the first week of November, there were 704 service requests, which would have been on pace for another month of 3,000-plus service requests,” Fletcher wrote. Fletcher also noted the experience of an elderly woman who was allegedly told by Animal Services that a carcass in her area would be picked up within 48 hours, but was not actually collected until much later. “Then (she was told) 72 hours. Then 10 days and even up to 3 weeks. The carcass now rots in a garbage can and now stinks,” Fletcher wrote. “I hope you will agree that this is unacceptable and the turnaround times for this large number of dead animals must be expedited immediately,” he added. Raccoon carcasses pose a low risk to humans and animals, but TAS advises residents to avoid physical contact with raccoons and to vaccinate their pets against rabies and rabies. Requests for services for raccoons and other large dead animals can be made online or by calling 311 (the city’s non-emergency line). “These animals should not go in the trash, the Blue Bin (recycling) or the Green Bin (organic). Small dead animals such as squirrels, mice, rats and birds may be placed in the trash if they are double bagged (with the bags tied),” the city wrote. Carcasses can also be taken to any of the three Toronto Animal Services shelters for disposal.
