Quebec targets raccoon rabies outbreak with 635,000 vaccine baits

With raccoon rabies on the rise in Quebec, the province is launching a major effort to stop the spread by distributing over half a million vaccine bait pouches — both by land and by air.

So far in 2025, 42 cases of raccoon rabies have been confirmed, mostly in the Montérégie and Eastern Townships regions. In response, Quebec’s Environment Ministry is distributing 635,000 vaccine baits across 7,016 square kilometres of southern Quebec.

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Aerial and ground drops underway

The vaccination campaign runs from Aug. 6 to Sept. 20. It begins with aerial drops over rural areas and continues with teams walking the land to distribute baits by hand in more populated or less forested zones.

“We’re doing it by hand where it’s less forested. There’s more forest patches, like farm, farm, old buildings of, you know, farmlands and stuff, as well as along watercourses or even, like, edges,” said Marianne Gagnier, wildlife biologist and rabies coordinator with Quebec’s Environment Ministry.

“It’s a public health treat, so we want to control this and eventually eliminate raccoon rabies from the province,” she added.

With Friday marking the last day of the aerial portion of the mission, ground teams will begin walking the area on Monday. Teams of 22 members will cover several kilometres of land to distribute the bait for the raccoons.

The baits are scattered across 116 municipalities — 68 in Montérégie and 48 in the Eastern Townships.

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Bait pouches designed for wild animals

The vaccine comes inside small pouches, coated in sugar and vanilla to attract animals like raccoons, skunks and foxes.

“When they poke the blister, the vaccine in the liquid will get in contact with the throat and the mouth.” said Guillaume Tremblay, a wildlife technician with the ministry. “This is how we vaccinate the animals.”

He said the timing of the operation is intentional: “It’s a good time of year because the young raccoons are big enough to eat the vaccine baits.”

From the air, pilots use a conveyor belt inside the plane to release bait into targeted areas below.

“They’re visually looking at areas, like, to drop the bait, so they’re activating the conveyor belt in the plane. So that way they’re dropping — but it’s, it’s, you know, they’re not gonna be able to see raccoons. They’re just gonna see, like, habitat,” Gagnier said.

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Public health and prevention

Officials explained that raccoon rabies is a serious health risk for humans. It is transmitted through saliva, typically from a bite or scratch, and is almost always fatal if untreated.

“When you meet or you see wildlife, stay away from wildlife in general. It’s really a good habit to not get close because you could get bit, scratch,” said Gagnier.

If someone comes into contact with a potentially infected animal, officials recommend washing the area with soap and water for 10 minutes and calling 1-877-346-6763 or Info-Santé at 811.

“We’re trying to break the outbreak, to stop the outbreak, using those baits, and I’m positive that, yeah, we’ll succeed with that,” said Tremblay.

“We’re doing these operations for quite some time now. We don’t know how long it’s gonna last, but yeah, for 2025, this is the goal — to, you know, do a good job of, you know, distributing baits,” said Tremblay.