Offices in Ottawa and Perth
(613) 722-1500

CONTACT US (613) 722-1500

Are the Animals Taking Back the Streets?

Are the Animals Taking Back the Streets?

By:

Posted July 16, 2020

A few nights ago, while walking our dog on one of his very frequent walks since the start of COVID-19 and the direction to stay at home, I saw what I believe to have been a stoat.  I say believe to have been, because I had no idea what the animal was and had to look it up.  Apparently, it is a member of the weasel family, and prevalent enough that it is identified as an animal of Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species and certainly not on the Species at Risk list in Ontario as an animal subject to protections under the Endangered Species Act, 2007, S.O. 2007. c. 6.  Yet I had never seen one before, and given their preferred habitat of moorland, marshes near woods, shorelines and mountains, would not expect to see one walking across a driveway in our subdivision.

Nor would I have expected a family of foxes to take up residence in our local soccer pitch, but without the constant rotation of kids’ soccer games and tournaments, the largely vacant field must have seemed like an ideal location for the foxes.  Early mornings they can be seen traversing the field, their red fur shining in the sunlight. While a coyote can often be seen in the nearby woods and there is an army of rabbits running rampant through the streets, I cannot recall foxes ever having established a den in the area.

Throughout Canada, there are stories of animals appearing in unexpected locations.  There have been reported sightings of bears, coyotes and even bobcats in residential neighbourhoods.  This includes a notorious coyote in Riverside South, who met his demise after exhibiting dangerous and aggressive behavior towards residents and their pets.  Fortunately, this type of interaction and result seems to be less frequent.

It must be very strange for animals, who were pushed out of habitats by human activity, to see all of that activity abruptly diminish.  It will be interesting to see how long these animals remain once “normal” activities resume.

In the meantime, I will enjoy the opportunity to sit on my front porch and watch the pair of mallard ducks that have been visiting our neighbours’ front lawn for about an hour every evening for the past several weeks. I am not sure what has drawn them there, but they are beautiful to watch.

This blog post was written by Cheryl Gerhardt McLuckie, a member of the Environmental Law team.  Cheryl can be reached at 613-369-0365 or at cheryl.mcluckie@mannlawyers.com.

More Resources

Blog |
Employment, Labour, and Human Rights, Commercial Litigation

By: 

Posted May 23, 2023

Both in my commercial and employment litigation practice, I encounter Ontario business owners faced with serious charges laid against them under the Provincial Offences Act[...]
Blog |
Family Law

By: 

Posted May 18, 2023

The recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in Anderson v. Anderson, 2023 SCC 13, provides guidance on domestic contracts and the enforceability of an informal[...]
Blog |
Environmental Law

By: 

Posted May 16, 2023

When many people think of contaminated sites, they think of the usual suspects such as industrial properties and gas stations.  They may not think of[...]
Blog |
Business Law

By: 

Posted May 9, 2023

Often business owners reach a point where they are considering the sale of their business either through the sale of shares or the sale of[...]
Blog |
Family Law

By: 

Posted May 2, 2023

Overview of Tort Claims in Family Matters Tort claims can be made in family law matters, so as to prevent a multiplicity of proceedings and[...]
Blog |
Employment, Labour, and Human Rights

By: 

Posted April 25, 2023

In a case that recently was decided from the Court of Appeal of Ontario called Celestini v Shoplogix Inc., 2023 ONCA 131, the Court had[...]

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Consent*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.