Rabies Vaccination Baits Being Distributed

BROOKSVILLE - Raccoons have put Hernando County under a rabies watch for the last three years.

To prevent more cases, local animal services officers are spreading fishmeal bait throughout the local rural areas. The bait contains a rabies vaccination (ORV).

"We've had so many positive cases (among) raccoons over the years," said Hernando County Animal Control spokeswoman Lisa Brown. "We want to control the spread of raccoon rabies."

Other animals are susceptible to rabies, including squirrels, rabbits, foxes and domestic pets.

Approximately 64,800 bait pieces will be distributed across 585 miles in the rural portions of the county.

Animal services officers began driving trucks up and down the western and southern regions of the county Tuesday and will continue to do so for up to three weeks.

Neighboring counties will be distributing some of the bait by dropping it from helicopters, but that is not expected to take place in Hernando, Brown said.

"People who come across the bait should leave it alone," she warned.

The pieces are not toxic or poisonous to humans or pets, but people are asked to wash their hands if they ever come in contact with them.

If a dog or cat ingests the bait, the worst thing that could happen would be an upset stomach, Brown said. Nonetheless, the pieces are intended for wildlife only and pet owners should try and keep their animals away from them if possible.

The baits can be safely ingested by more than 60 animal species.

In all, approximately 366,480 baits containing the vaccine will be distributed across 1,680 square miles in Hernando, Pasco and Hillsborough counties, according to an animal services media release.

The goal of the program is to reduce the raccoon rabies rate throughout Central Florida. Hernando County has been under a rabies alert since May 2005.

For more information, call animal services at 796-5062.