Rabies Control Operations 2019

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) will be conducting oral rabies vaccine (ORV) bait distribution in the summer and fall of 2019. Baiting operations will begin early July and continue until the end of October.

Per the attached map, MNRF’s 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 2019:

• Yellow shaded areas will be completed with a combination of Twin Otter airplane and Eurocopter EC130 helicopter. Twin Otter flights will begin August 19 through September 6, with Eurocopter EC130 flights occurring August 12-16and September 9-13. These dates are subject to change depending on weather conditions.
• The beige shaded area will be completed by Twin Otter from September 28-October 4.
• Urban hand baiting, including the use of temporary feeding stations, will occur in the pink areas starting in the first week of July and continue through to the end of October.
• Preventative baiting of the purple shaded areas in eastern Ontario will take place in mid-August and will take one day to complete.

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

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