SDG COUNTIES, Ontario - A portion of our region will be impacted by the Ministry of Natural Resource's (MNR) rabies vaccination program.
Bait will be dropped from aircraft in a select portion of our region, to help encourage wildlife to ingest a vaccine that prevents the spread of the deadly disease.
The baiting program employed by MNR will impact an area bordering the City of Cornwall and entering into southeast South Stormont, and southwest South Glengarry. Please consult the above map for a depiction of the proposed coverage area.
Oral vaccine baits will be distributed in areas of eastern Ontario with a Twin Otter airplane. Flights will occur in late August.
The green coloured coating on the oral vaccine bait (ONRAB) is made of vegetable-based wax with an attractant flavour (vanilla-sugar). Baits have a label with a toll-free telephone number (1-888-574-6656) and the message “Do not eat. Inside is a plastic package containing the liquid rabies vaccine. If found, the bait should not be touched, but left for raccoons, skunks and foxes to consume."
Ontario’s rabies vaccine baits have been tested to ensure they are safe for wildlife, people, and pets. However, eating a vaccine bait does not replace the regular rabies vaccination provided by a veterinarian for pets. In very rare cases, it could be a risk to immunocompromised pets or those with severe allergies. If a pet has eaten a bait and the owner is concerned, they should contact their vet as a precaution.
The program aims to stop the spread of rabies in terrestrial wildlife and MNR staff will apply a combination of actions, including surveillance, vaccine baiting operations, communications and research to ensure the most effective control of the spread of rabies in wildlife.