Along with all other Ontario Health Units, the Thunder Bay District Health Unit is participating in a surveillance program for West Nile Virus.
One of the components of this surveillance program is a dead bird collection program.
This program does not exist to pick up any and all dead birds. Rather it exists to identify good specimans to test for the presence of West Nile virus in our area. To that end, it is limited to birds of the Corvid family, specifically Crows, Ravens, Blue Jays and grey jays (whiskey jacks).
Why only Corvids?
Of all the birds in the Corvid family, crows are the weakest. While other members of the Corvid family such as blue jays or ravens may become infected, they will continue to fly around. Crows are especially likely to die from West Nile virus infection. Testing is done on those birds that do not have apparent injuries that may have caused death. Presence of West Nile in the crow population leads to the assumption of the presence of West Nile in the area and subsequently other wildlife.
Reporting Dead Crows, Ravens and Blue Jays: Call the Crowline
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625-8328 (City) or toll-free 1-866-582-9003 (District)
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Crowline hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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Outside normal business hours, in the City of Thunder Bay, please call Animal Control at 684-2156.
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If you are outside the City of Thunder Bay and it is after hours, leave a message on the above phone line and remove the carcass from the sun. However, on Friday evenings and weekends, after leaving a message, the bird carcass needs to be better stored.
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Carcasses must be fresh. We cannot use birds that are obviously rotted, have maggots or have been scavenged. Birds that have been left out for more than 24-48 hours are not likely to be good specimans.
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See below for "Proper Handling of Dead Birds"
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When you call the line, you will be asked for your name, phone number and the location the dead bird was found. The West Nile Virus Program staff will then determine if the bird should be submitted to a lab for testing. If "yes" he or she will arrange pick up the specimen (City of Thunder Bay) or have it dropped off at one of our district offices.
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Proper Handling of Dead Birds
Citizens are discouraged from handling the birds unless the following precautions are taken:
· Use small shovel or tongs to pick up bird. If these tools are not available, wear rubber glove or invert a plastic bag over your hand and grasp the carcass through the bag, wrapping the bag around the bird without touching the bird itself.
· Bird should be placed in a puncture and leak proof plastic bag. Securely tie bag and place inside a second bag and again tie securely.
Bird carcasses should be chilled if possible until delivered to the appropriate agency. They may be placed in a freezer.
Outside the city of Thunder Bay, after discussing the speciman with the West Nile Staff, you MAY be requested to bring the bird to your local Health Unit office. However, Crowline Staff will give you more information once they have determined that the bird should be submitted.
If you choose not to store the bird, you can dispose the animal by wearing gloves, double or triple bagging the animal and putting the dead animal in the garbage, or at a landfill. Immediately wash your hands after handling any dead animal. |
For more information, call the Environmental Health Program at 625-5930, or toll-free at 1-888-294-6630, ext. 5930.