Toronto has ‘major’ roadkill problem, staff struggling to keep up

Have you noticed more dead raccoons in your neighbourhood in Toronto? If so, you’re certainly not alone. Calls to 311 reporting dead raccoons have skyrocketed, and one city leader calls it a “crisis.”

Pam Brown lives on Greenwood Avenue, and lately, the number of dead raccoons she and her neighbours have seen has been unusual.

“It’s getting so ugly and smelly,” she said.

They’ve reported at least four dead raccoons in the past few weeks. They called 311 and were told the carcasses would be picked up within 48 hours. Weeks later, the animals remain on the streets, decomposing.

“I can understand it takes 48 hours, but three weeks? That’s ridiculous,” Brown said.

So she and her neighbours have taken matters into their own hands.

“We bag them, pick them up and have been putting them in the green bins,” she explained. “I don’t know if that’s what we’re supposed to do, but we can’t take the smell anymore; nobody is coming to get them.”

The reason why? Toronto Animal Services (TAS) is severely backlogged responding to the number of dead animal pickups.

“TAS has confirmed that they are currently experiencing an influx of service requests due to a raccoon distemper outbreak,” a City spokesperson said.

Distemper is a viral infection caused by the canine distemper virus. In addition to dogs, a variety of animal species can get distemper, most notably raccoons and foxes, wolves, coyotes, skunks, mink and ferrets. Raccoons with distemper may move slowly and stumble as they walk.

A raccoon in the wild. Photo: Henry Dinardo.

“Between October 31 and November 6, TAS received 502 requests for sick/injured animals, which are prioritized, 70 requests for confined stray animals, stray dogs at large and animals in need of protective care as a result of the owner being hospitalized, incarcerated, fire emergency or evicted and 411 service requests for cadaver pickup,” the City said.

Toronto-Danforth City Councillor Paula Fletcher tells CityNews her office has been getting a lot of calls too.

“I’ve had calls from residents saying there are a lot of dead raccoons out on the street, and they’re not getting picked up,” shared Fletcher.

“They’re very disoriented, and they’re being hit by cars. They’re dying. And then it’s taking forever to pick them up.”

In her ward alone, there have been more than 400 calls to 3-1-1 in the past two months reporting dead animals.

“I’m not sure the City has been able to meet the crisis that we have for the dead animals, primarily raccoons, because of distemper,” Fletcher said.

According to the City, TAS has four officers working during the day and two at night. They’re responding as fast as they can but struggling to keep up with the demand.

“Currently, TAS is averaging a 12 to 14-day response time for cadaver pickup service requests versus the standard 48 hours.”

Fletcher is working to address the problem. “I have sent an email asking if we can please expedite the pickup of all carcasses because there is a situation which I didn’t even know about until CityNews called me.”

In the meantime, the City is asking residents to handle animals carefully.

“Residents can submit a service request for pickup of a larger dead animal at toronto.ca/311 or by calling 311. The carcasses of small animals, such as squirrels, mice, rats and birds, should be safely bagged and set out with regular garbage for collection,” read a statement.

“Residents are reminded to wear gloves or use a double plastic bag when handling cadavers and to ensure they wash their hands thoroughly afterward. Cadavers can also be brought to any of the three animal shelters for safe disposal.”

“I guess it’s up to us to take care of this problem,” Brown said, “If I could still drive, I would volunteer to help clean up these streets myself.”

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