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Humane Euthanasia For Bats
August is our busiest time of year not just for collections as a whole but for bats in particular. An increase in bat collection requests has also resulted in an increase in the number of bats being inhumanely euthanized by being placed in a freezer alive. Freezing of live bats has not been considered a humane method of euthanasia for many years as it causes extreme suffering and is unreliable. In order to assist the Public Health Units in managing "live" bat cases we wanted to provide some background information on bats and options for humane euthanasia.

Bats have the ability to hibernate or enter a state of torpor which is what makes them such hardy animals and able to survive extreme conditions.

Definition of Torpor (as found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary)
  • a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility a state of lowered physiological activity typically characterized by reduced metabolism, heart rate, respiration, and body temperature that occurs in varying degrees especially in hibernating and estivating animals

Bats can enter a state of torpor (relatively deep sleep) for a few hours or a few days at a time. "Hibernation is a more advanced state of torpor where the bat can remain in a very 'deep sleep' for a number of days or weeks at a time." (The Landmark Practice: Bats and Hibernation).

Due to their ability to hibernate it can be very difficult for a member of the public to determine if the animal is in fact deceased or just sleeping. If there is ever a doubt that the bat is still alive it must be taken to a veterinary hospital, animal shelter, or wildlife control company to confirm and humanely euthanize, if necessary.

To give you an idea of how hardy these animals are we have included below some of the circumstances in which the bat was still alive:
  • Frozen for 72 hours, shipped overnight to the CFIA laboratory - this resulted in a lab technician receiving PEP for a bite and testing delays
  • Crushed in between a door, nasal blood secretions
  • Sealed in an airtight container for 48hrs

Please note: None of the above methods are considered humane methods of euthanasia

If you have a live bat that needs to be tested for rabies you can reach out to the following facilities and/or organizations:
  1. Veterinary Hospitals
  2. Municipal Animal Control Service
  3. Humane Societies
  4. Wildlife Rehabilitators - click here for a list of all Authorized Wildlife Rehabilitators in Ontario. When looking for someone in your area please ensure they handle rabies vector species.
  5. Wildlife Control Companies

Please review the links below for additional information on bats and humane euthanasia:
New RRP Software Tips: Human Exposure Submission Form
  • When submitting multiple animals that have the same victim, original location and collection location you no longer have to submit separate forms. When you are completing the submission form click on the blue "Add Animal" button that is located at the bottom of the "Animal Information" section. This will open a 2nd "Animal Information" section for you to complete for the 2nd animal and if there is a 3rd you will click the "Add Animal" button a 3rd time. Completing the form this way allows the system to create a unique Provincial Sample ID number number for each animal while only having to enter the additional information once (i.e. collection location, victim details, PHU contacts, etc.). This number is required on all laboratory submission forms.

  • Currently the text box for the contact phone number does not provide enough room for an extension. This issue is currently with our developers and until it is resolved there are 2 options for providing an extension:
  1. In the "Contact Name" text box you can include an extension beside the name, i.e. Tamara Gillen ext231
  2. At the bottom of the form there is an "Additional Notes" section where you can enter the name and extension in the text box.
Rabies in Ontario - MNRF Report
The MNRF is reporting on their results of wildlife testing (with no human/animal exposure), surveillance and bait drops. As of August 11th the MNRF is reporting a total of 487 cases of raccoon strain and 21 cases of fox strain rabies in Ontario since the outbreak began in December 2015.

In 2021, the MNRF has tested a total of 1688 animals and distributed more than 150,000 baits. Below are the positive rabies results as of August 11th, 2021.
  • Niagara: 6 skunks, 1 raccoon

The total number of raccoon strain cases since the outbreak began in 2015 are distributed among the following Public Health Units:
  • Hamilton: 215 raccoons, 112 skunks, 1 fox, 2 cats
  • Haldimand-Norfolk: 30 raccoons, 2 skunks, 1 llama
  • Niagara: 41 raccoons, 22 skunks, 1 dog
  • Brant: 26 raccoons, 2 skunk
  • Halton: 17 raccoons, 9 skunks
  • Waterloo: 2 skunks

The total number of fox strain cases since the outbreak began in 2015 are distributed among the following Public Health Units:
  • Perth: 6 cows, 2 skunks
  • Huron: 1 cow, 3 skunks
  • Waterloo: 1 fox, 5 skunks
  • Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph: 3 skunks
CFIA Report on Rabies in Canada
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has a website with statistics on all rabies cases in Canada (including the MNRF cases reported above) dating back to 1988. They update their website on the 28th day of each month.

As of June 30th, 2021 there has been a total of 1076 animals submitted for rabies testing across the country, including 615 which were submitted by Ontario. Of these cases, 37 were positive for rabies, including 11 that were from Ontario.

The rabies positive cases in Ontario are distributed among the following species:
  • Bat: 7
  • Skunk: 4

Visit the CFIA website for more information on rabies in Canada.
Ontario Public Health Unit Satisfaction Survey Results For The 2020 Service Year
We wish to extend our sincere thanks for your continued partnership.

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller
The OAVT Public Health Rabies Response Program
107-100 Stone Rd West
Guelph, ON
N1G 5L3
1-844-8RABIES