The City of Medicine Hat asks residents to please review the following information to determine what best fits your needs regarding pest and animal control options for your situation in order to get prompt and efficient service.

What to Do If You See a Wild Animal

Safety First! All wild animals are unpredictable. For your safety and the animal's well being, please maintain a safe distance between yourself and any animal encountered. Do not provoke wild animals and remember, never feed any wildlife.

Deer fawns are usually seen in June. If you encounter a fawn that is not moving, please do not touch it. Many people think the fawn is injured or abandonned when, in actual fact, the process of remaining still for up to several hours is the fawn's natural defence mechanism. The doe will leave the fawn alone so as not to attract the attention of a predator.  If a doe is present they are very protective and may charge at dogs to protect their young, keep your dog on a leash and immediately leave the area.  Try to avoid areas where fawns and does are known to be to prevent encounters with your dog.

Badgers are largely solitary and nocturnal in their habitats, and are not violent. They will only show aggression towards people if they are provoked. Please keep your dogs away. Badgers use hundreds of burrows within their home ranges and many burrows are re-used, often by different badgers.

Porcupines do not shoot quills; they actually need to touch their target. Keep your dog away, as it can be a long and painful process for your pet to have the quills removed.

Skunks & Raccoons are quite common in the city; some have become habituated to humans and in most cases can become accustomed to human activity.  Under no circumstances should you approach or try to get close to these wild animals or their young.  The best way to deal with these rodents is to prevent them frequenting your property by eliminating all attractants such as pet food, garbage or exposed compost piles.

Coyotes are common in urban areas. Keep your dog leashed at all times, and pick up children or small dogs if a coyote is spotted. If you are in a remote location and spot a coyote, leave the area immediately. Never leave food in your yard, even pet food, and avoid hanging bird feeders that contain lard or suet.  Further information can be found at:  www.srd.alberta.ca

Beavers are often considered pests due to their seemingly destructive nature but, they are highly beneficial to the environment. The ponds created from their dams create habitat for other wildlife, and the vegetation around these ponds flourish. After a dam has broken, the fertilizer - created from the decomposing mass in the dam - will spread downstream. A beaver's teeth never stop growing, so they have to gnaw on bark to wear their teeth down. Their diet consists mostly of bark from poplar, aspen and birch trees, and they only eat enough to satisfy their needs and to make dams.  Beavers are timid creatures but can become aggressive when they feel frightened or threatened, so please respect their space.

Bats are extremely effective at controlling the mosquito population – in fact a single brown bat can catch 600 mosquitoes in one hour. Bats also help plants and trees by spreading seeds, germinating and fertilizing through their droppings. If you see a bat nearby, do not touch it. Bats only bite in self-defence and might think they are being attacked if you try to handle them. When bats are found on the ground it may be due to the fact that they cannot take flight from the ground.  One solution is to take a rag and let the bat grasp on to one end of it and then hang the rag in a tree over night.  By morning if the bat is healthy it will have flown away.

Magpies eat nuts, sunflower seeds, insects and small animals. They are scavenger birds and are well adapted to our environment. Young magpies will make a lot of noise when they want to be fed. Older magpies are noisy when trying to scare predators away from their nest. If you have a noisy magpie near your house, there is probably a food source nearby – therefore, removing the food source should solve the problem.

Cougar sightings have been confirmed across the entire province, although they are most common in the mountain and foothill regions.  In recent years, sightings, in the prairie region have become more frequent, if you think you’ve seen a cougar or cougar sign (tracks or scat) contact Alberta Fish and Wildlife.  Further information can be found at:  www.srd.alberta.ca


Moose & Elk have become common within the County of Cypress and recently have even ventured within city limits.  These ungulates are quite large and pose the greatest risk to motorists.  Moose are solitary animals that frequent coulees, river/creek bottoms or any areas that have ponds or wet areas.  A cow moose with a calf can be the most dangerous since they could become aggressive if they feel their calf is threatened.  Elk are prairie dwellers and have been seen on the outskirts of the city, they are more skittish around human habitation and don’t commonly venture into urban areas.  If you see these large ungulates within the city contact Alberta Fish and Wildlife to report their location so they can be monitored.

Sightings and/or further information please contact Alberta Fish and Wildlife at 403.529.3680.

Preventing Deer Damage

It is difficult to move deer out of areas where they are not wanted.  (Due to inherent risks to the public and undue stress to the animal Alberta Fish and Wildlife staff is not in the practice of tranquilizing deer just to remove them from a certain area.  We have a healthy urban deer population that we will need to coexist with.)  A hungry deer will find almost any plant palatable; no plant is “deer proof”, although certain species of plants are better choices than others.  There are several options to try and prevent deer damage such as deer repellents and placing netting round small trees and shrubs, however, adequate fencing to exclude deer is the only sure way to control deer damage.

For further advice contact Alberta Fish and Wildlife at 403.529.3680.

Injured Wildlife, Wildlife that Pose Danger to Humans

To report injured wildlife please contact Alberta Fish and Wildlife 403.529.3680.  Please keep in mind that there are a number of deer that reside in the city that have old injuries (broken legs, etc that have healed over). These animals seem to function for years on three healthy legs.

Protected/Endangered Wildlife

This includes wildlife such as rattlesnakes, bull snakes, hawks and Peregrine Falcons contact Alberta Fish and Wildlife 403.529.3680.

Report any suspicious activity involving wildlife or incidents related to poaching to the Alberta Report-A-Poacher line at 1.800.642.3800.

Dead Animal / Carcass Pick-ups

Wild animals are known to carry a wide variety of parasites and disease so please do not handle carcasses, instead contact the following if you come across a dead animal;

Highway 3 running through the city of Medicine Hat from Gershaw Drive Overpass to west city limit, or outside city limits contact Volker Stevin toll free at 1-888-877-6237 or their Medicine Hat local at 403.526.9079

Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) running through the city of Medicine Hat from east city limits to west city limits or outside the city limits contact Volker Stevin toll free at 1-888-877-6237 or their Medicine Hat local at 403.526.9079

City of Medicine Hat roadways or sidewalks – Municipal Works 403.529.8177

Trails and park areas – Parks and Outdoor Recreation 403.529.8333

Private property – Alberta Fish and Wildlife 403.529.3680

Insect Control (including wasp, hornet, bee’s nests)

Insects present in or on private property is the responsibility of the homeowner. Call a private pest control company to remove from property. See your local yellow pages directory for listings of private companies in your area.

City parks, trails or trees – Parks and Outdoor Recreation 403.529.8333

Rodents

Rodents present in or on private property is the responsibility of the homeowner. Call a private pest control company to remove from property. See your local yellow pages directory for listings of private companies in your area.

Sightings of rodents such as rats in the city, which are considered a threat to human health and well being, can be reported to Bylaw Enforcement 403.529.8481.

Animal Control

Cat and Dog Control – Bylaw Enforcement 403.529.8481

Skunks and raccoons present in or on private property is the responsibility of the homeowner. Call a private pest control company to remove from property. See your local yellow pages directory for listings of private companies in your area.

• Some rental stores carry traps. Fish and Wildlife will loan traps for porcupines and raccoons only. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to remove the animal from the trap or hire a pest control company to do it and then return the trap.

Skunks and raccoons on public property within the city of Medicine Hat contact Alberta Fish and Wildlife 403.529.3680.

* City of Medicine Hat staff will not handle wildlife.

TIPS to mitigate or eliminate skunks and raccoons in your neighbourhood.