Need-2-Know: Bats in Ontario

If you find dead bats around your home, or in other areas, that do not appear injured or traumatized, contact the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative so they can assess whether surveillance testing for other diseases (like white-nose syndrome) may be needed.  It is not necessary to test bats for rabies unless they have been in contact with a person or domestic animal, as rabies is known to be present at a low level in all bat populations in North America (which is what makes bats a high-risk rabies reservoir species).

An infographic on rabies in bats for the general public / pet owners is available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, which is shown below and also available at the following link (and is also available in French): https://www.oahn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/PHAC-Bat-and-Rabies-Infographic-2024-FINAL-EN.jpg

Public Health Agency of Canada. Centre for Foodborne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases with the contribution from Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative. Bats and Rabies in Canada. Can Commun Dis Rep 2024;50(12):447. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/canada-communicable-disease-report-ccdr/monthly-issue/2024-50/issue-12-december-2024/bats-rabies.html

To download a PDF, please click here: https://www.oahn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/N2K-Bats-in-Ontario-20240816.pdf