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    Memo - Large Wild Mammal Response

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    CTV Ottawa
    The memorandum provides information on the City of Ottawa's Large Wild Mammal Response protocol following an incident where a bear was shot by police. It summarizes the protocol which involves By-law and Regulatory Services receiving calls and assessing situations, often working with other agencies to monitor or relocate animals through trapping. The police may respond first and determine if action is needed, with euthanasia only as a last resort. The memo addresses questions on the specific incident, inter-agency collaboration, and cultural considerations in transporting deceased animals.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Memo - Large Wild Mammal Response

    Uploaded by

    CTV Ottawa
    2K views4 pages
    The memorandum provides information on the City of Ottawa's Large Wild Mammal Response protocol following an incident where a bear was shot by police. It summarizes the protocol which involves By-law and Regulatory Services receiving calls and assessing situations, often working with other agencies to monitor or relocate animals through trapping. The police may respond first and determine if action is needed, with euthanasia only as a last resort. The memo addresses questions on the specific incident, inter-agency collaboration, and cultural considerations in transporting deceased animals.

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    A memo regarding the City of Ottawa’s large wild mammal response protocol.

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    The memorandum provides information on the City of Ottawa's Large Wild Mammal Response protocol following an incident where a bear was shot by police. It summarizes the protocol which involves By-law and Regulatory Services receiving calls and assessing situations, often working with other agencies to monitor or relocate animals through trapping. The police may respond first and determine if action is needed, with euthanasia only as a last resort. The memo addresses questions on the specific incident, inter-agency collaboration, and cultural considerations in transporting deceased animals.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    2K views4 pages

    Memo - Large Wild Mammal Response

    Uploaded by

    CTV Ottawa
    The memorandum provides information on the City of Ottawa's Large Wild Mammal Response protocol following an incident where a bear was shot by police. It summarizes the protocol which involves By-law and Regulatory Services receiving calls and assessing situations, often working with other agencies to monitor or relocate animals through trapping. The police may respond first and determine if action is needed, with euthanasia only as a last resort. The memo addresses questions on the specific incident, inter-agency collaboration, and cultural considerations in transporting deceased animals.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    MEMO / NOTE DE SERVICE

    To / Destinataire Mayor and Members of Council File/N° de fichier:

    From / Expéditeur Roger Chapman


    Director
    By-law and Regulatory Services

    Subject / Objet Large Wild Mammal Response Date: May 5, 2023

    The purpose of this memorandum is to provide further information with respect to the City’s Large
    Wild Mammal Response protocol, following the incident that occurred on April 24, 2023, involving
    a bear in western Ottawa. Several questions have been posed since that time and responses to
    those are provided below.

    1. What happened in the lead-up to the shooting that led the officer to decide the bear
    could no longer be monitored but had to be dispatched?

    By-law and Regulatory Services (BLRS) had been working with its partners, the Ontario
    Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), the National Capital Commission (NCC)
    and the Ottawa Police Service (OPS), to conduct live trapping operations with the goal of
    relocating the bear to more remote habitat. This bear had been sighted in the Bells Corners
    and Bridlewood areas in recent days. One of the live traps was in the wooded area close to
    the location where the bear was dispatched.

    BLRS, the NCC and MNRF were not involved in the decision to put down the animal, given
    that OPS, as first responder, is best suited to determine whether the bear was posing an
    imminent threat requiring such action in the circumstances that existed at that time.

    2. How will By-law and Regulatory Services communicate in an ongoing way with other
    wildlife response agencies and the Ottawa Police Service about service calls dealing
    with animals so that the appropriate collaborative plans can be put in place?

    A protocol currently exists for Large Wild Mammal Response and each agency has a role to
    play and follows the procedures set out in the protocol. That includes:

    • By-law and Regulatory Services to triage calls as outlined below


    • Ottawa Police Service, often the first responder to such calls, to gather information and
    assess public safety, and to undertake crowd and traffic control during interventions
    • National Capital Commission to provide field response for interventions or other assistance
    upon request from BLRS
    • Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to provide support in the field or as otherwise
    requested and feasible given distance of its staff from Ottawa.
    When a large wild mammal (bear, deer, moose) is reported in an urban area within City limits,
    BLRS may receive a call either from 3-1-1 or one of its partner agencies, including OPS or the
    MNRF.

    BLRS has an experienced staff member available to receive and triage calls 24-hours a day,
    although most calls come in during daylight hours when residents are more likely to see large
    wild animals.

    Once a call has been received, the following steps are taken:

    • BLRS will determine the location of the animal (urban vs. suburban vs. rural) and its
    condition.
    • BLRS will follow protocols based on the species and proximity to wildlife corridors.
    • If the animal is severely injured and cannot be rehabilitated, it will be humanely euthanized
    by the appropriate agency.
    • If the animal is not injured and is in a lower-risk area, its movements will be monitored.
    Intervention is most often not necessary in these cases. However, depending on the
    animal’s behaviour or if it moves to a more high-risk, high population-density area, BLRS
    may contact the NCC or the MNRF to live trap or chemically immobilize the animal and
    move it to a more remote location with suitable habitat.

    This approach is based on the guiding principles of the Wildlife Strategy with respect to
    human wildlife conflicts. BLRS’ priority is the safety of the public but will always assess
    situations to consider the least invasive option, which is preferred, with euthanasia being the
    last resort.

    If OPS is first on-scene, they will contact BLRS for advice and any other assistance deemed
    necessary once the circumstances are triaged. However, it is important to note again that
    OPS, as first responder, is best suited to determine whether there is an imminent danger to
    the public based on the species and specific circumstances at that time.

    Since 2002, when the protocol was first established, there have been only two other
    occasions when a large wild mammal was dispatched in circumstances similar to the April 24th
    bear occurrence. On countless other occasions, animals have been safely and successfully
    relocated—either by live trapping, chemical immobilization, or “herding” to a suitable area—
    with full partner agency collaboration, including OPS, in accordance with the protocol.

    2
    3. When the frequency of service calls indicate that public safety may be at risk, how will
    By-law and Regulatory Services review trap and relocate plans to be sped up or
    modified as necessary?

    BLRS and its partners were continuously responding to calls for service and reevaluating and
    modifying plans accordingly, to safely live capture and relocate the bear. Further interventions
    were being considered but were cancelled once notice was received that the bear had been
    put down.

    As noted, it is extremely rare that calls about large wild mammals result in having to put down
    the animal—that is the absolute last resort. In fact, in most instances, no intervention is
    required at all.

    4. How will By-law and Regulatory Services address the complexity of working
    collaboratively with other wildlife response agencies in nighttime hours. How can By-
    law and Regulatory Services support Ottawa Police Service officers so that they will be
    adequately trained and supported by experts in how to manage large mammal wildlife
    situations.

    By-law Enforcement Officers are currently not equipped or trained to respond to large wild
    animals posing an imminent risk to residents, which would be a significant undertaking
    requiring a cost-benefit analysis, among other things. This will however be considered as part
    of the review of the City’s Wildlife Strategy. Residents who have concerns or comments
    regarding this incident are encouraged to submit them, along with their views on the strategy
    itself, on Engage Ottawa

    As noted, appropriate responses to reports of large wild mammals in the city vary widely
    depending on the species, location and other factors. Nighttime use of chemical
    immobilization is unsafe and therefore, not practiced. The need for nighttime interventions is in
    fact extremely rare and not recommended. The roles of the various agencies and their officers
    described above are clear and the protocol functions accordingly.

    It cannot be stressed enough that prevention plays are very significant role in dealing with
    human-wildlife interactions. Public education and awareness about removing attractants from
    back yards (e.g. bird feeders), particularly where residential use directly abuts natural areas
    such as woodlands and wetlands, and the “Do’s and Don’ts” when encountering a wild animal
    is an integral part of any wildlife strategy.

    3
    5. How will large wild mammals be appropriately transported, with cultural consideration,
    after death?

    Procedures and agreements are already in place to transport large wild animals, with cultural
    consideration, after death. Again, species, timing and circumstances of the animal’s death are
    also considerations.

    I trust that this information will be of assistance.

    Sincerely,

    Roger Chapman
    Director
    By-law and Regulatory Services

    c.c. Wendy Stephanson, Interim City Manager


    Kim Ayotte, General Manager, Emergency and Protective Services
    Senior Leadership Team
    Andrea Lanthier-Seymour, Director, Public Information and Media Relations
    Caitlin Salter-MacDonald, Manager, Council and Committee Services

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