Nearly 46,000 vaccine vaccines have begun to be distributed in Estrie to try to avoid the return of raccoon rabies, after a case was recorded in Vermont, a few kilometers from Quebec.
These baits are placed in specific places such as banks, streams, fields, or even wooded areas.
“It is a liquid vaccine inside an ampoule and is resistant to falling from the air,” explained Guillaume Tremblay, a wildlife technician at the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Change Control, Wildlife and Parks.
The operation targets raccoons as well as other species such as skunks or foxes. It will take place until April 30 in Estre, but also in Montérégie, in 17 cities, including Saint-Armand, Noyan and Vrligsburg.
Marianne Gagné, the ministry's coordinator, states that the ultimate goal is to protect the population, because rabies is transmitted from animals to humans.
A second operation of this type is scheduled to take place next August, by land and air. This is a good time to vaccinate baby raccoons born in the spring who have not been vaccinated.
