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Only in retrospect, were the animal-human-environment interrelationships recognized in Minamata, Japan. A situation similar to Minamata disease in Japan occurred in Northwestern Ontario in the 1970’s*. The Wabigoon-English river system was contaminated with mercury discharged from a chloralkali plant. Pet cats became ill by eating fish from this contaminated river. In this paper the authors concluded that, “Since cats develop the symptoms of methylmercury poisoning more readily than human beings, they serve as indicator organisms for this disease.”  Question: What or where are today’s modern day canaries and how can we better utilize the information they provide? * Takeuchi, T. et. al. The Outbreak of Minamata Disease [Methyl Mercury Poisoning] in Cats on Northwestern Ontario Reserves. Environmental Research, 13, 215-228, 1977