Program tries to keep raccoon rabies from Canada

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Federal agriculture officials in northern Vermont, New York, New Hampshire and parts of Maine are working with Canadian officials to prevent rabies from entering Canada.

For years, rabies was contained well south of the border, but last year — for the first time — rabies was found in Canada, along the Richelieu River near St. Jean, Quebec, about 30 miles north of the border.

Officials on both sides of the border now are trapping raccoons, vaccinating them for rabies, tagging them and testing their blood.

Since February, technicians have trapped, vaccinated and released more than 1,000 raccoons along Lake Champlain. In addition, thousands of doses of raccoon bait laced with vaccine have been spread by hand or dropped from airplanes along a 30-mile wide swath south of the Canadian border from the Connecticut River valley into upstate New York.

 

 AP Photo/Toby Talbot

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