Thornhill resident frustrated by sick racoon problem

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 26, 2015
By Simon Joseph

Lisa Nackan is no veterinarian, but when she came home and saw a raccoon in her driveway, she knew its behavior was strange.

“You could see he was in pain, walking up and down and falling over,” said the Thornhill resident. “It looked like it was drunk. It was pathetic.”

She estimates she called 20 places looking for help that day, including the City of Vaughan and York Regional Police.

Trying to get help was a confusing journey, she said.

“Nobody knew anything. Everyone contradicted everyone else.”

The issue of sick raccoons has been a source of discussion among members of the Facebook group Families of Thornhill Woods, Valleys and Vicinity.

Some were pointed to the Toronto Wildlife Centre or the OSPCA.

But when contacted by The Liberal, the executive director of the Toronto Wildlife Centre said this is not a solution.

“We can’t be the ones doing animal control. We are a charity in another city,” said Nathalie Karvonen, the centre’s executive director.

Karvonen is adamant Vaughan needs its own animal response.

“It is a source of frustration for us,” she said. We are run entirely on donations.”

Centre staff have been to Vaughan council a number of times arguing this point, she said.

“We can’t and won’t respond to these calls. Virtually every municipality in the GTA has an animal response except Vaughan ... It is a big problem. When Vaughan residents call the charity, they are desperate for help.”

Karvonen explains the work the centre does.

“We regularly help Vaughan residents with sick, injured and orphaned wildlife who do have a chance of recovery, all with our own resources and through the fundraising we do. It's specifically only the animals, like distemper raccoons, who are not rehabilitation candidates, that we can't help,” she said.

Distemper is a viral, non-treatable, fatal disease, which is why animals with this illness cannot be rehabilitated.

 Karvonen also pointed out that raccoons with distemper often lie in open areas.

“A child could pat a raccoon on the head and get bitten, so it is an animal control issue,” Karvonen said.

The OSPCA has contracts with communities across Ontario, which includes helping residents respond to wildlife, but does not have such a contract with Vaughan, said Alison Cross, spokesperson with the OSPCA.

Residents are welcome to call and the OSPCA can help them determine who best to speak to, but the organization itself would not respond to this type of call unless there was suspicion of animal cruelty involved, she said.

Meanwhile, a City of Vaughan spokesperson responded, saying, “Vaughan Animal Services’ role is to foster a safe community for pets and their owners. Our services include dog and cat licensing, animal control, bylaw education, pick up of injured or stray dogs and cats, reuniting owners with lost pets, and pet adoption. The city has received calls regarding raccoons, and advises residents to not approach wildlife and call an authorized wildlife rehabilitator”.

Vaughan had considered contracting outside organizations, such as Toronto Wildlife and/or other private companies or creating a wildlife services department.

As for Nackan, she ended up trapping the raccoon in a garbage bin with help from her son.
Nackan has known of other residents who had a similar experience.

“So many raccoons are sick and there is nobody to take them away.”