Prince George, British Columbia, is facing an unusual consequence of its drug crisis: crows have reportedly been exposed to opioids discarded on city streets.
The birds have been picking through waste and debris in areas where illegal drug use is common, potentially coming into contact with leftover substances.
British Columbia introduced a drug decriminalization pilot in 2023, but the province chose not to renew it in early 2026. Local residents and rescue workers say the effects of the wider drug crisis remain visible in Prince George.
A disturbing video shared on social media appears to show a crow twitching on the ground, its head lowered after apparently ingesting a toxic substance.
The suspected overdoses have become such a concern that volunteers with the animal rescue organization Good Caws Crow Rescue Society now carry naloxone, a medication commonly used to reverse opioid overdoses in humans.
Volunteer Dayna Slater said the group has responded to more than a dozen suspected drug overdoses involving crows so far this year.
‘It’s disheartening, it’s scary,’ Slater told the CBC.
‘It’s a whole bunch of factors coming together to make, like, the perfect storm.’
Slater said an increasing number of birds suffering suspected overdoses have been found in a part of Prince George known for open illegal drug use.
Crows in Prince George, British Columbia, may be coming into contact with opioids left behind in areas affected by illegal drug use
Good Caws Crow Rescue Society volunteers carry naloxone as they respond to suspected drug overdoses in birds
British Columbia launched a drug decriminalization pilot in 2023, while Prince George continues to struggle with the effects of the drug crisis
Affected crows have been found with their wings spread, their eyes closed and their heart rates dangerously slow. Some birds have died after suspected overdoses.
Others remain alive but appear unresponsive. In some cases, Slater said, brown liquid foam has been seen coming from the birds’ beaks.
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Slater believes the crows may be encountering traces of toxic drugs in exposed garbage and discarded materials on the streets.
‘A crow doesn’t know the difference between a sandwich bag and a bag that had something in it,’ Slater said.
Only a very small amount of residue may be enough to harm the birds.
‘It takes something the size of like a grain of sand to affect a bird,’ she said.
Slater said most of the crows treated by the rescue group recover enough to be released within 24 hours.
Dr. Kaitlyn Liukaitis, a veterinarian at Birchwood Veterinary Clinic, has treated some of the affected birds. She said their symptoms are consistent with exposure to toxic drugs.
In January 2023, British Columbia premier David Eby decriminalized drugs in the province – a move he later admitted was a mistake.
‘I was wrong on drug decriminalization and the effect it would have,’ he said during a speech in October 2025.
‘What it became was a permissive structure that… it was okay to use drugs anywhere that resulted in really unhappy consequences.’
In Prince Georg, overdose calls have at times tripled, contributing to a constant backdrop of emergency sirens throughout the city. Now, according to Slater and others in the local veterinary scene the consequences are turning up in the city’s wildlife
They advocate safe indoor spaces where people can access and use drugs – reducing the likelihood that dangerous substances and the drug related waste will be left exposed outdoors
However, after decriminalization of possession was put in place, British Columbia became a mecca of open-air drug use.
And while British Columbia chose not to continue with the pilot program in 2026, the province and its cities remain plagued by criminality and squalor as a result of the experiment.
The Daily Mail has contacted David Eby for comment.
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