Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Ministry of natural resources drops thousands of baits with vaccine as raccoon and fox rabies strains reappear in Ontario

Monday, May 2, 2016

by SUSAN MANN

After a long hiatus, the raccoon and fox strains of rabies have returned to Ontario.

Chris Davies, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry manager of wildlife research and monitoring protection, said since Dec. 4, 2015, there have been 91 cases of raccoon rabies in the Hamilton area, including four in Haldimand and two in Niagara Region.

About 70 per cent of those cases are in raccoons and 30 per cent are in skunks, he said.

There have also been two case of fox rabies north of Stratford, near Brunner. They are not related to the raccoon-strain rabies cases near Hamilton.

For the raccoon cases, “it’s the first time we’ve had raccoon cases of rabies in Ontario for 10 years,” Davies noted. For fox rabies, “it’s the first time in four years that we’ve had a fox rabies case.”

Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson Bianca Jamieson, said by email that one of the fox rabies cases was in a calf. The animal was “exhibiting neurological signs” near the end of December. The animal was euthanized and tested.

Subsequent test results came back “positive for Arctic fox-variant rabies,” she said.

Other animals on the farm that were in close contact with the calf were placed “under a 40-day precautionary confinement period,” she said. “None of the other animals on the farm have shown any signs of rabies.”

Davies said the rabies in the calf was transferred from wildlife.

Jamieson said any farmer who suspects rabies should isolate the animal immediately, minimize contact with it, and call their veterinarian.

All animals are susceptible to getting rabies, including livestock, such as cows, sheep and pigs, she said.

For more information on rabies in Ontario, farmers can go to the ministry's website.

Davies said his research group’s goal is to eliminate the fox and raccoon rabies strains from Southern Ontario. A third strain of rabies found in Ontario is in bats.
 
To combat the raccoon and fox rabies outbreak in the province, ministry officials have been dropping small baits with rabies vaccine in them since December. “The animal eats the bait and is vaccinated against rabies,” he explained.

Officials have also been collecting samples from “strange-acting animals” within 50 kilometres of the area where the Hamilton cases were found. “We found the 91 cases because we were out looking for them,” he said.

Starting in April, ministry workers dropped an additional 500,000 baits, mainly in the Hamilton area, but some were also put down around Stratford, “just to prevent the spread of disease,” he noted.

The ministry eliminated the raccoon strain of rabies from Ontario in 2005 and it will probably never know how it returned. The most likely “source of this is a rabid raccoon coming in on a truck or train from the United States,” Davies said. “A lot of stuff comes into the Hamilton area by truck or train.”

Davies said people, including farmers, shouldn’t approach strange animals or pets acting strangely that they don’t know. “Just stay away from wildlife.”

Anyone with pets shouldn’t let them run loose in areas where rabies is present. Legally, dogs and cats must be vaccinated against rabies.

Jamieson said farmers should contact their veterinarian for information about rabies vaccination requirements for livestock. Farmers who take horses, sheep and cattle to competitions or fairs, may need to have the animals vaccinated against rabies depending on whether their area public health department requires it.

If farmers have nuisance animals around their farms, Davies said, they shouldn’t trap them live and transport them a long distance away, because they “run the risk of moving rabies with them.” He recommended not moving an animal more than one kilometre.

“Even through they (the animals) look healthy, they could be carrying rabies,” he explained.

Anyone who thinks they have been exposed to a rabid animal should contact their doctor,” he said. “It’s really important you get post-exposure treatment, which is effective.” BF

Current Issue

June/July 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility

Friday, June 27, 2025

Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online

Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost

Friday, June 27, 2025

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online

Health Canada sets rules for drone spraying

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Health Canada has approved the use of drones, also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), for pesticide application under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Drones are considered aircraft by Transport Canada, but Health Canada treats them differently due to their unique... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top