Achievements of the Bird Strike Association of Canada
Formed in 2009, we are a volunteer professional association guided by a Steering Committee. BSAC significant achievements include:
- Co-hosted the North American Bird Strike Conference with BSC-USA in 2010, 2013, and 2017 in the USA and in 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2019 in Canada (Suspended in 2021 due to Covid 19) (see list)
- Held Canadian conference/Workshops in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 (suspended during 2020 due to Covid 19) (see list)
- Replaced the cancelled conference/workshop with a series of seminars during 2020-2022 (view previous seminars)
- Initiated the Bruce Mackinnon Memorial award and have presented it to six recipients (see award information)
- Maintain a comprehensive website featuring news, resources, and background information
- Maintain an electronic library of over 3000 papers (request member access)
- Produced newsletters to keep subscribers informed (past newsletters)
- Initiated a Facebook page to encourage engagement by the industry
- Clarified for our membership the implications of Health Canada changes to laser importation regulations
- Engaged the University of Guelph Centre for DNA Barcoding to identify animals struck by animals at Canadian airports when remains are not otherwise visually identifiable. Negotiated a reduced price for members of BSAC. Subsequently encouraged Transport Canada to offer this service for free to Canadian airports which they did beginning in 2021. (more info here)
- Sent DNA sampling kits to 100 Canadian airports
- Assisting the initiation of the Canadian Avian Forensic Morphology Lab at the University of British Columbia
- Initiated a photo identification service at no cost to airports to assist in the identification of animals struck by aircraft in which whole remains are present (more info here)
- Developed a poster encouraging airports to report strikes and providing them with directions on how to do this appropriately. Posters were distributed to Canadian airports and are available on demand.
- Developed a clearer definition of what constitutes a wildlife strike than is present in CARs and posted this definition on this website.
- Reviewed Transport Canada’s annual strike report and provided detailed feedback on how the report can be improved.
- Presented a White Paper to the Minister of Transport that identified gaps in safety due to regulatory short-falls and provided suggestions for regulatory improvements.
- BSAC presents papers and maintains a booth at Canadian conferences such as SWIFT, AMCO, CAQ, etc.
- Produced a business card that can be handed out to pilots encouraging them to report strikes and with a handy QR code to access the TC strike form online.
- Continuously developing a closer working relationship with birdstrike committees around the world
- Incorporated as a not-for-profit and developed a set of operating by-laws to guide us
- Wrote a letter to the Minister of Environment & Climate Change Canada outlining the reasons why designating airports as critical habitat for species at risk is not only a bad idea for airports, but also for the species at risk
- Clarified the training requirements in CARs in a document entitled Airport Wildlife Management Technician Knowledge Requirements
- Provided a free risk analysis program for use by Canadian airports