Nearly 150 animals at the Toronto Zoo to receive COVID-19 vaccinations

Three hundred doses of a COVID-19 vaccine designed for animals are on their way to the Toronto Zoo where there'll be administered to nearly 150 of its animals, the zoo said in a statement Tuesday.

In a statement issued to CTV News Toronto Tuesday, a spokesperson said the zoo “eagerly awaits the arrival of [their] vaccines,” manufactured and donated by Zoetis, a global animal health and drug company.

“[The] Toronto Zoo will be receiving 320 doses, with two doses required per animal given about two [to] three weeks apart,” the statement said.

“We have identified 146 animals that will be receiving the vaccine, based on the COVID-19 sensitivity list that has been developed through on-going research and reports of positive cases in other zoos.”

When the zoo announced their intention to vaccinate animals in Oct. 2021, CEO Dolf Dejong told CTV News Toronto that the zoo would aim to vaccinate “all primates, big cats, swine, bats and mustelidae — a family of mammals including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others.”

The zoo says they’ve been training the animals to “voluntarily participate” in healthcare procedures, “including voluntarily presenting an area of the body to receive the vaccine.”

“Once the animals have received their vaccines, the wildlife care staff will monitor them closely, as they would after any other vaccination,” they said.

The zoo also announced that their “Canadian counterpart,” the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, MB., has begun the process of vaccinating their animals.

Zoetis said they’ve received no “significant” animal adverse event reports from zoo veterinarians administered with their COVID-19 vaccine to date.

Despite official mandates lifting March 1, The Toronto Zoo has opted to keep its mandatory proof-of-vaccination policy in place until further notice.