Rabies Awareness Month: Health Department reminds pet owners that rabies vaccination is mandatory

Whitby, Ontario - May is Rabies Awareness Month and Durham Region Health Department is reminding the public that the rabies vaccination is mandatory for pets, while stressing the importance of keeping everyone, including children, away from wild animals. Rabies is a preventable disease which is most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal.

"A key component of rabies prevention and control is responsible pet ownership, including rabies vaccination for all dogs and cats over three months old,” said Shannon Lewis, Manager, Health Protection with the Health Department. “Pet owners can protect their families and pets by ensuring all dogs and cats are currently vaccinated against rabies."

Responsible pet ownership also includes:

• Keeping vaccinations up to date for all dogs, cats, and ferrets. Current immunization against rabies is required under Ontario Regulation 567/90 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act for cats and dogs over three months old.
• Keeping your pets under direct supervision and avoiding contact with wild animals.
• Calling your local animal control agency for instructions on having stray animals removed from your neighbourhood.
• Having your pets spayed or neutered to help reduce the number of unwanted pets that may not be properly cared for or regularly vaccinated.
• Reporting all animal-to-human bites to the Health Department.

To help area residents with rabies vaccinations for pets, Pickering Animal Services is hosting a low-cost rabies vaccination and microchip clinic on May 6, in partnership with the Millennium City Veterinary Hospital and Durham Region Health Department. For details about this event, and other vaccination and microchip clinics, visit durham.ca/rabies. Check back regularly for updated clinic dates throughout the year.

Rabies is also present in the wildlife population and associated with foxes, skunks, bats, raccoons, and coyotes; between 2017 and 2021, six bats tested positive for rabies in Durham Region. The following precautions are recommended to help avoid potential exposure to rabies from wild animals:

• Avoid all wild animals, especially bats, skunks, foxes, raccoons, and coyotes.
• Avoid contact with dead or sick animals.
• Keep pets away from wild animals; pets should be kept indoors at night or should be supervised when outside.
• Do not attempt to care for sick animals. Contact your local animal service and ask for assistance.

Anyone who has had a rabies exposure — which could include a bite, scratch, or contact with the saliva of an infected animal — or who has information on potential a rabies exposure, should immediately report the incident to the Health Department by calling 905-668-2020 or using the online form. Children should report animal bites or scratches to their parents/guardians and parents/guardians should contact the Health Department.

For more information about rabies, please visit durham.ca/rabies or call Durham Health Connection Line at 905-668-2020 or 1-800-841-2729.

- 30 -

For more information, please contact the Health Department.