Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here are some topics that the Canadian Wildlife Service has received lots of questions about. One of them might be what you want to know.

Who does what

The management of wildlife in Canada is shared by the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. The Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada handles wildlife matters that are the responsibility of the federal government. These include protection and management of migratory birds as well as nationally significant wildlife habitat. Other responsibilities are endangered species, control of international trade in endangered species, research on wildlife issues of national importance, and international wildlife treaties and issues. As part of its responsibility to manage migratory birds, the Canadian Wildlife Service consults with provinces and territories and issues annual migratory game bird hunting regulations.

By and large, provincial and territorial wildlife agencies are responsible for all other wildlife matters. These include conservation and management of wildlife populations and habitat within their borders, issuing licences and permits for fishing, game hunting, and trapping, guidelines for safe angling and trapping ,and outfitting policies.

For information on hunting and trapping, or any concern about a species in a specific area, please contact the provincial/territorial wildlife government office. You will find a link to all provincial and territorial wildlife government offices on our Related Sites Web page.

Bats

For information on how to deal with bats in your attic, you can visit the New Brunswick, Department of Natural Resources Web site, which has a page on damage prevention and control methods for bats. Another source of information is Dr. Brock Fenton at York University. You can reach him through the university's Web site.

For information on how to build bat houses, here are some useful Web addresses:

• http://www.batcon.org/bhra/index.html
• http://www.cancaver.ca/bats/bathouse.htm
• http://www.batcatalog.com/Scripts/default.asp

Wildlife rehabilitation

For information about caring for an injured mammal or bird, please consult your local animal care centre. For a complete listing of rehabilitators by province, see The Wildlife Rehabilitation Information Directory web site.

Your municipal government office may also provide some guidance.

Nuisance wildlife

Some provincial and territorial government wildlife offices offer information on how to deal yourself with animal pests and at what point it is advisable to call in the help of a professional. The government of New Brunswick, Department of Natural ResourcesWeb site has a Web page entitled Nuisance Wildlife which gives you information on damage prevention and control methods for some species. Some municipalities have help listed under "Animal Control". If you have a local animal care centre, it may offer you some assistance.

Hinterland Who's Who video clips

You may view the video clips for our Hinterland Who's Who series at www.hww.ca.

Migratory game birds hunting regulations

Regulations for each province and territory are available on our Web site.