I have heard the only mammal not capable of being a carrier of rabies is
the opossom. I don't know why. Here in North Carolina they will not use
baited treatments because the populations of animals travel too much. It
is supposed to have too little effect. We have had rabid cats, dogs,
foxes, skunks and raccoons. Many do not vaccinate their cats or dogs even
with the free clinics each month. When the pet gets in a fight with a
rabid animal they have to kill the pet. Not terribly smart!
gregg
"Raccoons in northwest Georgia can take a break from raiding
garbage cans because officials are treating them to a meal.
"It's not a simple act of kindness. The fish pellets being
distributed in sections of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee have a
hidden ingredient: rabies vaccine.
"In an effort to stop the westward spread of rabies in raccoons,
workers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture are using planes
to drop the pellets in rural areas
"Rabid raccoons can infect cats and dogs. People exposed to the
virus must receive multiple injections, at a cost of more than
$2,000, to ward off the usually fatal disease.
"Each of the raccoons' crunchy fishmeal pellets contains a plastic
vial of rabies vaccine with the added antibiotic tetracycline. The
drug stains teeth yellow so researchers can track how many
raccoons have been vaccinated by examining trapped animals and
road kill.
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