Reporting sick, injured or dead wildlife

You are not required to intervene with all injured, sick or dead wild animals you come across. However, reporting them if they belong to certain wildlife species is mandatory.

Certain injured or dead wildlife species must be reported to SOS Poaching – Wildlife Emergency and, if required, turned over to a wildlife officer.

See Animals that must be declared for more information.

All mammals can get rabies, which is a fatal disease that can be transmitted from infected wildlife to humans or pets. In some areas, sick or dead raccoons, skunks and foxes are more likely to have rabies. See Rabies prevention and protection for more information.

Under the raccoon rabies surveillance program, raccoons, skunks and foxes found sick or dead in l’Estrie or Montérégie must be reported by calling 1-877-346-6763 or submitting the following form online.

Fill in the form

As part of the Surveillance and control of avian influenza program in Québec, birds found sick or dead must be reported to 1‑877‑346‑6763. In some cases, specimens may need to be collected for surveillance purposes.

All birds of prey and wild turkey must be reported to SOS Poaching – Wildlife Emergency .

For confirmed cases of avian influenza in Québec, compliance with the following instructions is mandatory for the safe disposal of dead wild bird carcasses.

Most fish deaths observed in natural environments are attributable to environmental causes (e.g., water temperature that is too high, lack of oxygen in the water, etc.) or microorganisms that are naturally present in the water.

Sightings of abnormal deaths of wild fish can be reported to the Direction de la gestion de la faune in your region. Depending on the circumstances, further investigation may be conducted to learn more about the situation and potential causes.