As air travel becomes more popular, so grows the need for effective wildlife management at airports. Over the years, aircraft noise has diminished while the numbers of aircraft have increased dramatically. Not only are birds and mammals less able to avoid aircraft movements-there are fewer places left for these animals to find refuge.
The first recorded bird-strike fatality occurred in 1912, when an aircraft collided with a gull over the coast of California and crashed into the ocean, killing the pilot. Since then, the number of reported wildlife strikes has risen steadily. In 2000, there were 772 reported strikes to Canadian aircraft. Although none involved human fatalities, the strikes that adversely affected flight or inflicted damage incurred huge costs.
The direct costs-primarily to airlines-associated with replacing and repairing damaged aircraft parts pale in comparison to the indirect costs incurred through aborted takeoffs, rescheduled flights, passenger and crew accommodations, and missed connection arrangements. Perhaps most damaging are the affects to airline reputation and reliability incurred when customers are inconvenienced by wildlife-related incidents.
Through the implementation of effective wildlife-management plans-including active and passive wildlife-management techniques-the costs, risks and damages associated with wildlife strikes can be significantly reduced.
This document is an update of Transport Canada's Wildlife Control Procedures Manual (TP 11500). Last revised in 1994 and 2002, the previous manual included guidance on wildlife-management procedures at Canadian airports, as well as information concerning available products and techniques and wildlife-control legislation.
The Wildlife Control Procedures Manual compiles information from a variety of Canadian and American publications to present up-to-date information on the wildlife-hazard management issue.
Sections A and B are an overview of wildlife management from both national and international perspectives. The overview is followed by sections on long-term solutions available through passive wildlife-management techniques, including habitat modification and mitigating hazardous land-use activities adjacent to airports. Active management techniques are discussed in the following three sections, assessing various removal, exclusion and dispersal methods. Sections H and I discuss control methods for problem birds and mammals in the airport environment; suggested management techniques are limited to those that have proven effective through research and application. Section J concludes the manual with information on implementing and assessing wildlife control programs.
Every airport is unique: their size, number of aircraft movements and type of air-traffic control programs vary significantly. Wildlife management programs are as varied as the airports they serve, and should result from thorough site-specific inventories and assessments. Wildlife control is an art as well as a science, and the information contained in this manual will provide a starting point from which airport wildlife controllers can begin to manage existing wildlife and habitat problems.
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To obtain a copy of the report, please contact the Multimedia Products and Services at publications@tc.gc.ca.
WILDLIFE CONTROL PROCEDURES MANUAL - 4th Edition
TP 11500 E
Catalogue No. T52-4/79-2015E
ISBN 978-0-660-03672-4