Wildlife

Coyotes

There is no bounty for Coyote hides through the County of Oxford office. For further information, please contact the Ministry of Natural Resources, Aylmer office to enquire. 615 John Street North, Aylmer, ON N5H 2S8.
Telephone 519-773-9241.

Rabbit and Pheasant Hunting

Rabbit and pheasant licences are not required in the Township of Zorra – as noted in Township By-law 43-09.

Raccoons

Here are a few things to note about raccoons:

If you see a raccoon behaving strangely, do not approach it. Give it ample space, and make sure to keep children and pets well away. The raccoon will most likely move along on its own, given time.
If you have a raccoon that is hanging around and not moving on from your property, you will need to contact a pest control company to have it removed. The municipality does not remove raccoons (or skunks, etc.) from private property.
The Humane Society will pick up injured wildlife from private properties and there is no fee for this service. Please visit our Animal Control page for contact information.

To help keep your kids and pets safe:

Don’t encourage raccoons to visit your yard. Don’t leave any food out, and keep your recycling and waste containers secure until your collection day.
Talk to your children and tell them not to approach wild animals.
Walk your dog on a leash, and make sure to check for raccoons before you let your pets outside in your yard.
As raccoons may carry distemper, make sure that your pets have been vaccinated against the disease.

Wildlife rehabilitators in Ontario are authorized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to care for injured, sick or orphaned wildlife until they can be released back into the wild. These rehabilitators work in a range of environments, from a large facility to their own backyard. For more information, visit the MNR website.

Rabies

Rabies is caused by a virus that can infect any mammal, including humans. Birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish do not get rabies. In infected mammals, the virus is found in saliva and can be spread through three main ways:

Bites that break the skin
Getting infected saliva in an open cut, sore, or other wound
Getting infected saliva in the mouth, nose, or eyes

The animals that most often transmit rabies in Ontario are bats, foxes, skunks and raccoons. Once signs of rabies appear, in any animal, the disease is virtually always fatal. A series of vaccinations and treatment with rabies antibodies can prevent infection in humans in most cases if administered soon after exposure.

If you suspect a wild animal may have rabies:

if humans have been exposed, report the incident to your local health unit, doctor or local emergency department
if a domestic animal has been exposed, call your veterinarian
if you’re a veterinarian and need help assessing whether an animal has been exposed to rabies, call the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300
if neither a human nor an animal has been exposed, call the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) Rabies Information Line at 1-888-574-6656

Visit the Ontario website for more information about rabies.

Sunday Hunting

Sunday gun hunting is not permitted in the Township of Zorra. Click here for a map of municipalities that allow gun hunting on Sundays. Click here for a list of municipalities that permit gun hunting on Sundays. As always, you must obtain consent from the landowner before hunting on private lands. Visit the MNR website for more information.

In municipalities where Sunday hunting is not permitted by provincial regulations excluding any Sunday in these periods goose season is open from February 25^th to March 4^th within wildlife Management Units (WMU) 60,81,83,86 to 92 and 95. Zorra is WMU 91B under MNR.