Animal Control rant/ideas?

[firenze11]

My parents found a very sick raccoon in their barn yesterday. It was out in the day, listing to one side, and very slow moving. They ended up being able to trap it and it's very very aggressive. Of course we are worried about rabies or distemper. Animal control says they don't deal with raccoons, only dogs. Every other society/ministry/agency we called said to call Animal Control. :confused::mad::rolleyes:

To make matters worse, it escaped sometime late today. Now it's loose on the property again.

[VeloVT]

State police???

it may be a story with a sad ending unfortunately. I believe in this country, if you find, say, a deer that has been seriously injured but not killed, lying in the road, the police are able to deal with it.

[makbike]

Fish and Wildlife

[carpaltunnel]

In Nebraska a Game Warden from the State Game and Parks department could help you with that. Do you have a corresponding department in your area?
The symptoms you listed are good reason to be concerned.

[firenze11]

I've pretty much called every ministry/agency I can think of. This is the amazing/frustrating part.

The Humane Society ("call animal control")
Animal control (only dogs)
A vet our vet told us to call
The Police (no answer, glad we didn't need them for a human emergency)
Ministry of Natural Resources (they have a Rabies Unit)
Food Inspection Agency - Animal Services (they had a rabies info hotline which led me to an emergency number)
The emergency number led to a woman in Alberta who told us to call local Animal Control and then was totally shocked they told us they would only get dogs.
And finally, as a last resort, a Pest Control company.

The run-around has been crazy. The vet told my Dad that there were no cases of rabies in raccoons in Ontario last year. No wonder why, they're no way to report it :rolleyes:

Even if it isn't rabies I don't think my parents or I (since I'm here for awhile) should have to risk dealing with a sick, angry raccoon in a cage.

Hopefully one of those agencies will call us back but I don't think anyone is open until Tuesday.

Why couldn't it have been a cute Easter bunny?

[SouthernBelle]

Here it would be the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. Part of your problem may be that it's been a holiday weekend.

[sundial]

I would contact Fish and Wildlife and see if they know of a vet that specializes in wildlife rehabilitation. If not, perhaps the authorities may know of a wildlife sanctuary for raccoons.

[roadie gal]

I don't know about Canada, but in the US, racoons are in the "big three" for rabies. Be very careful if you see it again and stay away.

Btw, the other 2 are bats (you just assume bats are carriers) and skunks.

[kat_h]

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/mnr/csb/news/2007/aug17fs_07.html - scroll down to the end

Diseased or Dead Wildlife
If you suspect there is a public health risk from a sick wild animal, such as rabies, or you or your pet had contact with a suspected rabid animal, contact your local Public Health Unit immediately. Rabies is fatal for humans and animals if not treated. Symptoms of rabies and several other diseases in animals can include tremors, aggressive behaviour, partial paralysis, convulsions, and loss of fear of humans.

To report a dead crow, raven or blue-jay bird contact your local Public Health Unit. To report other dead animals or birds contact the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre (CCWHC).
Contact Information:

* Public Health Units:
o call 1-866-532-3161 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, or visit www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/contact/phu/phuloc_mn.html for a list of offices.
* Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre:
o call 1-866-673-4781, or visit http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/toce.shtml.

[firenze11]

Thanks Kat_h, we've called them and have messages into them and the Ministry of Natural Resources. Nothing is open until Tuesday, though.

I guess we have to sit tight and see if we can trap it again, it snowed yesterday and there are no raccoon tracks around the barn, so it's probably around somewhere. My Dad think it hides out in the wheel well of the horse trailer. I also found scat in the empty stall next to my horse. The private pest control company called back and told us they would come pick it up - but we don't need them anymore. I'd rather have the proper agency deal with it first just to see what's actually going on with the animal (if it is actually sick and what with? Otherwise it could be relocated or rehabilitated or whatever)

They've been pretty successful with the bait drops around here that have rabies vaccines in them, but they aren't perfect. I had a really great geography lecture on how they do it that actually.

The house also had bat problems one year. (We've taken care of how they got in, of course) . Ah, nothing like sitting in the living room watching tv when a bat flies into the room around the ceiling :eek: - even better is trying to trap it and release it again outside. Now we just need skunks and we could have a "Big 3" Party ;)

[Tuckervill]

Maybe it crawled off and died already? You'll know after it thaws. :P

I walked out my back door this morning to the strong smell of skunk spray! A quick look and I saw nothing. A quick sniff of all the dogs' heads confirmed that *they* hadn't encountered it. Thank all that is good! I hope the little skunky decided our dog and cat infested yard is too dangerous!

Karen

[SlowButSteady]

I'm a DVM, so I get this question a lot.

From a public health standpoint, a raccoon behaving oddly or as though impaired or as though it has lost its fear of humans--I'd consider it rabid until proven otherwise. Distemper is another disease entity that can cause this in raccoons, but in my neck of the woods, rabies is much more common than distemper. It may be quite different where you are.

In my practice, I'd consider a raccoon behaving in that manner to be a public health hazard to people, pets and livestock. A ballpark estimate is that 80% of raccoons in my area behaving in that manner are rabies positive.

In the southeastern US, racoons are our most common rabid animal, followed by foxes and skunks.

Legal ramifications vary from state to state in the US, so I can only say that from my own state's standpoint, such an animal would be euthanized (most commonly in my neck of the woods, someone shoots it) and tested for rabies. In my area, "animal control" is nonexistent, so rural veterinarians are often called upon to take the brain from a deceased animal and then we submit it to our county health department, who in turn submits it to the state. If they are positive--meaning they are infected with rabies--the question is who/what was exposed.

There are official goverment protocols for dealing with exposed people, pets and livestock in the US.

On a holiday weekend in the USA, you'd also get the beaurocratic shuffle. Distill the public health P-O-V down and you'd find that the government acts as though a three day weekend trumps a rabies exposure. (medically, an exposed person has many days to develop clinical rabies infection, depending on where the bite is located).

People in my county are encouraged to hold the subject until government offices are open and then submit the subject for testing. If the subject is deceased, I recommend refrigeration until it can be submitted for the procurement of tissue samples.

FWIW, raccoons are extremely dexterious and are quite adept at slipping their humanlike hands through the cage and opening it.

Also, do not contact the raccoon or its saliva. And for your protection and theirs, keep pets and horses vaccinated as recommended by your veterinarian.

It's morbid to say it and it may horrify some people, but if its legal in your location and if anyone chooses to shoot a rabies suspect, don't shoot it in the head! The brain needs to be as intact as possible for testing.

[firenze11]

Thank you very much for this information SlowButSteady. I'm saving it for future reference if I need it again. I've learned so much about rabies in the past three days. Like raccoons can exhibit furious and dumb rabies. I guess in a way I'm glad I know more about it now.

I completely understand the bureaucratic runaround during the holidays but I'm surprised the advice we've gotten from local agencies has been so bad. But now I know.

My new update is that our vet is calling the "rabies" vet in our area - the local person that deals with these cases. She wants to know why the vet has not called us back, after three messages in two days, to at least give us some guidance. Our vet has always been very good to the family and the fur babies - she's gone above and beyond more than once. I'm very thankful for that.

Thanks again for listening to my rant and giving me information and guidance. It helped a lot. If the little guy/girl returns I'll let you know the outcome.

[OakLeaf]

Looks like you're not alone: same thing in Columbus, Ohio. (http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/03/29/Raccoon.ART_ART_03-29-08_B1_KD9PDDC.html?sid=101)

[firenze11]

Looks like you're not alone: same thing in Columbus, Ohio. (http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/03/29/Raccoon.ART_ART_03-29-08_B1_KD9PDDC.html?sid=101)

Oh my! I wonder how many people in other provinces/states have the same problem. I'm guessing a lot. I know there has to be a better way to inform the public of how to deal with problems like this.

The raccoon never came back but the Ministry of Natural Resources and Rabies specialist vet in our area finally called back. The MNR told my Dad that it was most likely no one would come out unless the raccoon bit one of us or our animals. Or we had killed it. The rabies vet told us the same thing. Nice, huh? It seems to be the same from the article above.

Thank goodness the ordeal seems to have blown over. . .now I just get to look at our 4 wild turkeys everyday! Much more enjoyable.