Animal Control

KW Humane Society

The Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo Stratford Perth provides animal control services for the Township of North Dumfries. These services are limited to dogs and small wildlife. They are located at 250 Riverbend Drive in Kitchener and can be reached at 519-745-5615. Please check the KW Humane Society hours of service for more details.

Call the KW Humane Society to report: 

• Wildlife or a domestic animal that is roaming on public property
• Animal control by-law violations
• Lost or found pets
• For emergency after hours services please call 519-745-5615 and follow the prompts for the following: 
  • Sick or injured dogs and small wildlife
  • Vicious dogs

Ontario Animal Protection Centre

Contact the Ontario Animal Protection Centre at 1-833-926-4625 if a pet, farm animal, or wild animal in captivity is in distress of being neglected. This includes animals that:

• Are injured, in pain, sick, suffering, or abused
• Lack proper care, water, food or shelter

KW Humane Society

The KW Humane Society shall respond to calls for small wildlife in distress or deceased, within 45 metres (150 ft) of a residence on private property (not to include nuisance calls) for the following: 

• Small wildlife or domestic animal that is in need of assistance, injured, or dead
  • The Kitchener Waterloo Humane Society will accept stray cats or small domestic pets if space and resources allow.  Residents MUST call the Humane Society in advance at 519-745-5615.  When space is not available, cats may be placed onto a waiting list and brought into the centre as space becomes available. We would also encourage residents to contact other local humane societies to inquire about assistance.
• Sick or injured dogs or small wildlife

911 (Emergency)

Call 911 in an emergency when any life is in immediate danger, such as when there is:

• An act of animal cruelty underway, such as beating or torturing of an animal
• An animal left unattended in a hot or cold vehicle

By-law Enforcement

Contact By-law Enforcement Officers at 519-632-8800 ext. 107 or email a Township By-law Officer to report the following: 

• an animal-related noise complaint
• a dog at large on Township property

KW Humane Society

Call the KW Humane Society to report: 

• A dog attack (such as a bite) or an animal behaving in a way that poses a risk to the safety of people or other animals
• A pit bull (banned under the Dog Owners Liability Act)
• For emergency after hours services please call 519-745-5615 and follow the prompts for vicious dogs

911 (Emergency)

Call 911 in an emergency when any life is in immediate danger, such as when there is:

• An animal attack resulting in serious injury to people or other animals that requires emergency medical attention
• A dog or cock fighting ring underway

In 2023, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) will once again be conducting Oral Rabies Vaccine (ORV) bait distribution and trap-vaccinate-release (TVR) programs in Ontario. Baiting and TVR operations will begin June 19 and will continue until the end of October. TVR operations in St. Catharines will begin May 1.

Map of planned baiting area for 2023

Rabies Vaccine Bait Information Sheet

Per the attached map, rabies vaccine bait distribution will be conducted in rural areas with MNRF aircraft and by hand in urban areas by MNRF wildlife technicians. These are the details of bait distribution and vaccination work in 2023 (dates are subject to change depending on weather conditions):

• Grey shaded areas will be completed with a combination of Twin Otter airplane and Eurocopter EC130 helicopter in mid-late August.
• Urban hand baiting, including the use of temporary bait stations, will occur in the brown shaded areas starting June 19 and continue through to the end of October.
• Live trapping and vaccinating wildlife (trap-vaccinate-release) will occur in the areas surrounding Hamilton, Niagara, St. Catharines and Welland shaded in yellow starting June 19 and will continue through to mid-October. TVR operations in St. Catharines will begin May 1.
• Preventative baiting of the purple shaded area in eastern Ontario will take place in mid-August by Twin Otter airplane and will take one day to complete and hand baiting in the dark purple shaded area of the city of Cornwall will be completed in early August.

In addition to the activities mentioned above, MNRF may conduct localized rapid response baiting and trap-vaccinate-release measures, which would take place in the event of a raccoon or fox strain rabies case outside of the planned baiting area.

The ministry is committed to the research, surveillance, control and elimination of the outbreak of rabies in southern Ontario to prevent the disease from spreading. Since the start of the rabies outbreak in 2015, the first of its kind in over a decade, MNRF has taken quick action to protect communities, distributing 8.2 million vaccine baits by air and ground. Rabies cases have decreased by 90% since 2016.

In keeping with current World Organization for Animal Health guidelines, the 2023 rabies control zone has been reduced as some areas have had no reported cases in over two years. The control zone encompasses an area within approximately 50 km of positive cases that are less than two years old (positive cases since July 1, 2021).

Any warm-blooded mammal can contract rabies. If a human contracts rabies and does not receive treatment, the disease is fatal.

The khaki-green coloured bait being distributed by hand and by aircraft is made of wax-fat with an attractant flavour (vanilla-sugar). A label with a toll-free telephone number (1-888-574-6656) and the message “Do not eat” is located on the exterior of the bait, and a plastic package containing the liquid rabies vaccine is embedded in the centre. If found, the bait should not be touched, but left for raccoons, skunks and foxes to consume. (See attached bait identification hand out for detailed description.)

Ontario’s rabies vaccine baits have been tested to ensure they are safe for wildlife, people, and pets. However, eating a vaccine bait does not replace the regular rabies vaccination provided by a veterinarian for pets. If a pet has eaten a bait and the owner is concerned, they should contact their vet as a precaution. 

Ontario’s rabies control program is a joint effort that receives important input and contributions from a variety of partners across the province. Partnerships with provincial ministries, federal agencies, regional health units, municipalities, wildlife rehabilitators, licensed trappers, wildlife control agents and Indigenous communities are all key to the continued success of Ontario’s rabies control program.

For further information about rabies in Ontario, please visit Ontario.ca/rabies or contact the ministry’s rabies information line at 1-888-574-6656.

Should you have any questions or concerns about the information provided, please contact me at 705-313-2043 or by email at Larissa.Nituch@ontario.ca.

Larissa Nituch

Rabies Science Operations Supervisor

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry will be conducting oral rabies vaccine (ORV) bait distribution from June 27 to the end of October 2022. 

1. Map of planned baiting area for 2022
2. Rabies Vaccine Bait Information Sheet

Per the attached map, rabies vaccine bait distribution will be conducted in rural areas with MNRF aircraft and by hand in urban areas by MNRF wildlife technicians. The following provides details of MNRF bait distribution in 2021:

• Grey shaded areas will be completed with a combination of Twin Otter airplane and Eurocopter EC130 helicopter. Twin Otter flights will occur from August 15 through to August 21, with Eurocopter EC130 flights occurring August 22-26.
• Urban hand baiting, including the use of temporary bait stations, will occur in the brown shaded areas starting June 27 and continue through to the end of October.
• Live trapping and vaccinating wildlife (trap-vaccinate-release) will occur in the areas surrounding Hamilton shaded yellow starting May 2 and will continue through to the end of October.
• Preventative baiting of the purple shaded areas in eastern Ontario will take place in early August and will take one day to complete.

In addition to the activities mentioned above, NDMNRF may conduct localized rapid response baiting and trap-vaccinate-release measures, which would take place in the event of a raccoon or fox strain rabies case outside of the planned baiting area.

The ministry is committed to the research, surveillance, control and elimination of the outbreak of rabies in southwestern Ontario to prevent the disease from spreading. Since the start of the rabies outbreak in 2015, the first of its kind in over a decade, NDMNRF has taken quick action to protect communities, distributing 7.5 million vaccine baits by air and ground. Rabies cases have decreased by 95% since 2016.

In keeping with current World Health Organization guidelines, the 2022 rabies control zone has been reduced as some areas have had no reported cases in over two years. The control zone encompasses an area within approximately 50 km of positive cases that are less than two years old (positive cases since July 1, 2020).