Toronto says new standard of five days 'more realistic' for removing animal cadavers, responding to some dangerous dog calls

Two raccoons climb over buildings on Queen Street in downtown Toronto. (Joshua Freeman /CP24)

If you call the City of Toronto to report a dead animal it could now be up to five days until crews remove the cadaver from your street or property.

The City of Toronto is responding to slow response times on cadaver removal and dangerous dogs by moving its target response times from 48 hours to five business days in some cases. 

A report received by the Service Excellence Committee Friday lays out the city’s performance when it comes to some of the most frequent calls for service.

Of the top five service requests to Municipal Licensing and Standards in 2023, staff had the poorest record (62 per cent) for meeting service standard targets when it came to cadaver removal, followed by injured or distressed wildlife (63 per cent). 

They did best when it came to requests for service about amplified sound (92 per cent), while property standards (76 per cent) and business licencing enforcement (73 per cent) fell in the middle.

In 2023, Toronto Animal Services (TAS) got 15,157 calls for cadaver removal of wild animals. While the target was to respond to 90 per cent of requests within 48 hours, the city was able to do so for just 63 per cent of calls.

In a presentation to the Service Excellence Committee Friday, staff said the standard was changed to five days in March in order to “set more realistic expectations for cadaver requests.”

Standards around dangerous dogs were also changed in March.

In 2023, TAS received 3,137 calls about dangerous dog attacks. It aimed to respond to 85 per cent of them within 24 hours, but only did so for 35 per cent of calls.

As of March, the new standard for dangerous dog incidents with no bite is 48 hours, while the response to acts of menace is five business days.

“The City works to remove dead animals as soon as possible,” the agency notes on its website. “However the removal timelines may vary for a number of reasons including the prioritization of sick and injured animals, increased demand as animals become more active in warmer weather, and availability of Animal Care and Control Officers.”

TAS said it added four officers and one supervisor this year to help deal with call volumes, for a total of 39 officers and four supervisors.

There has been a heightened awareness around dangerous dogs over the past year or so in the wake of a couple of high-profile attacks. Critics have said that the city should be doing more, including better enforcement of off-leash rules.

But Coun. Stephen Holyday, who chairs the Service Excellence Committee, told CP24.com that the numbers raise questions about how the expectations of residents compares to the city’s response capability given its resources. 

“I agree with many citizens; it's unpleasant and it's bothersome,” Holyday said of languishing animal cadavers. “And so this sets up for a really important conversation that the executive director alluded to when it comes to the city's budget, about taking a reality-based look at how we are doing and what it is that we promised to do. And if those are mismatched, council has to make decisions about how it funds Animal Services.”

He pointed out that Toronto Animal Services is somewhat peculiar in terms of the varied calls its staff respond to.

“In the questions (at committee) it came up that highly trained animal officers are the ones that are out there collecting the cadavers. And there's good questions about where their time is best spent (there),” Holyday said.

He acknowledged that many residents might balk at a five-business day response time, or even a 48-hour response time. However he said the committee has to defer to experts on animal behaviour when it comes to gauging the seriousness of an issue.

He said he’s glad that the numbers are being discussed now and he wants to see more data about city service targets to better inform government decisions.

“It sets up for an important conversation at budget time as to whether or not city council would like to see that changed and give a commensurate amount of resources to make that change or accept it,” Holyday said.