Toronto residents say sound cannons are rattling their dogs

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) operates the large streetcar maintenance and storage facility, and they say birds, otherwise known as seagulls, build nests, lay eggs and leave behind droppings, causing health and safety risks to employees and those in the area. 

According to the TTC’s website, “two sound cannons will be activated a maximum of four times per hour, daily between 30 minutes before sunrise until 7 p.m. and at random intervals,” from March until June 2025. If no birds are present, the cannons will not be used. 

But the noises have some east end residents on edge, particularly dog owners who say their pets are traumatized by the high-pitched sounds.

“We have been responsible users of (sound cannons) as a deterrent method for two years,” said TTC senior communications specialist, Stuart Green, in an emailed statement. The cannons, kept on a strict schedule are often used less than announced said Green, adding the company was sure to warn residents and officials before using the cannons.

Because no other businesses in the area have publicly stated their plans to use sound cannons or warned residents, all complaints on the use of them are directed to the TTC.

The Star recorded a total of 27 blasts, between 5:46 a.m. and 6:45 a.m., on a recent Tuesday, coming from multiple businesses in the area of Leslie Street and Commissioners Street that had large flocks of ring-billed gulls circling overhead— with only three of those blasts coming from TTC’s Leslie Barns building.

While the Star was unable to confirm exactly what other businesses in the area are also using sound cannons, technically the use of them to scare birds, does not contravene any regulation and is completely legal. 

TTC said while they are aware of other businesses nearby firing sound cannons, for them, using the technology is helping and it would be “unfortunate if improper or irresponsible use by others” was to impact their ability to continue doing so. 

For the vast majority of dogs, when they’re dealing with fear due to loud sounds, it’s more to do with the fact that they don’t understand where it’s coming from, said Toronto based dog trainer and behaviourist, Kristina Rapson, “and of course, they have more sensitive hearing than us.”

Higher decibel sounds are more irritating to an animal than the lower ones, said Rapson, however, “the lower ones can produce a vibration, and that vibration can also cause fear,” she said.

“If they spook, they can actually slip right out of their harness or collar, and then they start to run for their lives,” adding a darting dog is disoriented, not watching for traffic and can be hit by a vehicle or lost, said Rapson.

The first time she heard the sound cannons, Riverside resident, Ariella Kimmel’s dog, Betty, was so startled by the noise it bolted from Jimmie Simpson Park and darted toward traffic until a stranger could grab hold of the panicked pup who was off leash at the time. 

The dog now shakes, “tail between her legs,” when it comes time to go for a walk, and when they do manage to make it to the park, the moment the sound happens again, the rattled dog pulls to head back home.

“Every morning when I have to watch (my dog) shake and be terrified, I just feel heartbroken for her,” said Kimmel.

Beaches resident Lisa Booth said because she lives across the road from Woodbine Beach, there are no buildings to help insulate the sound of the cannons and the noise carries toward her home, leaving her seven year old pet husky, Isla, uneasy. Booth said a veterinarian recommended she medicate her dog because when she is brought outside she is too scared by the cannons to “do her business,” sometimes not going for up to 14 hours.

Now, after paying for the vet visit, and the prescription, she worries her dog could be lethargic or have side effects to deal with. The anxiety meds prescribed take two weeks to a month to kick in, but with the sound cannons going until at least June, Booth said felt she had no choice but to try.

Another dog owner and Leslieville resident, Kelly Kozluk said her six year old Labrador retriever, Sega, is “terrified to the point where the only place she feels safe is the bathtub,” adding she would wake up and find her dog shaking in the bathtub, because of the early morning cannons.

Now, it’s a daily struggle getting her dog, who reacts to the sound of the cannons, out for walks. They have switched up their routine, but without any set schedule of when to expect the blasts, Kozluk said it’s tricky.

“It’s unpredictable,” said Kozluk, “It’s not happening on a schedule, so we can’t plan for it and try to protect (my dog),” she said.

Emeritus professor of wildlife biology at McGill University, David Bird, said the location of Leslie Barns so close to Lake Ontario is why gulls are landing, not because they are attracted to a green roof and that birds would want to land there even if the roof were covered in tiny rocks. As for the cannons effectiveness in scaring away the gulls, he said he has observed birds unbothered by extremely loud sounds.

In a study with students in Goose Bay, Labrador, Bird said they looked at the effects of low flying military jets flying over ospreys and found “the birds kept nesting, and raising their young even amidst the loud sounds.”

In another study, he used a drone with bear bangers attached, essentially a smaller version of a propane cannon, and flew the drone over a vineyard in British Columbia.

There were thousands of pigeons and thousands of blackbirds, said Bird, and when they fired off the bang right above the birds, “every bird flew away, but in sixty seconds, all the pigeons were back feeding at the same place. And within ten minutes all the blackbirds were back,” said Bird. “Bottom line is, birds are habituated to those propane cannons.”

Left to their own devices though, Bird said the ring-billed gulls could wreak havoc on a rooftop, even causing structural damage due to the acidity in their droppings and extra weight on the roof from materials brought up for nests that have the potential to clog drains, causing water to collect on roofs, adding weight and possible damage. The only thing that can work to prevent ring-billed gulls from gathering is “exclusion,” said Bird, and while it is more costly, making it hard for ring-billed gulls to perch or lay nests by putting specific fencing or netting has shown to be effective. 

The cannons, often used to protect farm crops from damage by birds, do not require a municipal noise exemption permit. They are referred to as “scaring techniques,” under the federal Migratory Birds Regulations, and are completely legal to use.

According to an emailed statement to the Star, a spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada, the entity responsible for federal environmental policies, said “a noise exemption permit is not required to use sound cannons or other noisemaking devices to discourage birds from landing if they are causing damage or danger. Anyone may scare birds that are causing, or are about to cause, damage or danger.”

When businesses use sound cannons, there is no requirement for them to notify the public, or local residents, another point of contention for those living in the area.

According to the city of Toronto, an investigation into the use of sound cannons in the city would only occur if residents complain through 311.