Rabies vaccine operation targets raccoons and skunks in Montreal parks

Teams of workers will be spreading sweet-smelling baits containing a rabies vaccine through Montreal’s parks in the coming weeks.

“The purpose of this distribution is to immunize raccoons against rabies and this aims to protect human health against the disease. It’s a deadly disease once symptoms appear,” said biologist and rabies coordinator for Quebec’s Environment Ministry, Marianne Gagnier.

The provincial environment department said last month it is leading an effort to distribute some 815,000 baits throughout the Estrie, Montérégie and Centre-du-Québec regions to the south and east of the city, as well as in nine Montreal-area parks.

The baits will be spread by hand and each one looks like a small piece of green ravioli in a packet.

“We’re facing right now an outbreak… It’s a major one, it’s the biggest one we’ve had in Quebec so far,” said Gagnier.

The province has recorded 171 raccoon rabies cases since the beginning of the year, including two cases in cats.

There have also been seven cases of bat rabies, one of which was detected in Montreal in late July. There are no confirmed cases on the island of Montreal and crews are working to create a vaccination barrier to prevent the spread. 

“Most of our efforts right now done on the south shore of Montreal, which is on the doorstep of Montreal Island,” Gagnier explained while distributing 600 baits Thursday at the Parc national des Îles-de-Boucherville.

She told CityNews that knowing where to place the baits starts with looking for signs the raccoons are in the area.

“Here you can see some poops there and then some berries there, so it’s a good place to put some vaccine baits,” she said.

She calls the spots “raccoon latrines” — essentially their regular bathroom stops. And where raccoons are already travelling and feeding is where the bait has a better chance of being found.

“They’re gonna come over and over every day or other day so they’re gonna find the bait and then they’re gonna eat it.”

The bait doesn’t require anyone to catch the animal. The raccoon simply chews through it, gets the vaccine into its mouth — and develops antibodies against rabies.

Gagnier advised people to avoid handling the baits, and should wear gloves or use a shovel if they are forced to move one. They should also wash their hands after touching one of the baits.

“There’s no risk of getting the rabies being infected by the rabies by this vaccine because there’s no active virus in it,” she said. “If there’s contact with the liquid it’s to to phone Info-Santé at 811 to report the incident.”

It will take years to combat raccoon rabies in the province, according to Gagnier.

She added that bats are also at high risk for rabies, which can spread to other wildlife, but also to pets like cats and dogs.

“The idea is to stay away from wild animals or unknown animals for your safety and have your pets vaccinated,” she said.

–With files from The Canadian Press