Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

Rabies in animals has been known In North America for over two centuries, and whether the disease was initially present in wild species or was introduced by dogs, it has been known in skunks for almost a century and a half. Today more rabies cases in wild animals are reported than in domestic animals, and a considerable proportion of both human and domestic animal exposures to the disease are the result of wild-animal contact. The most useful techniques for controlling wild animal rabies today are methods that reduce contact between infected individuals and susceptible individuals; these involve the manipulation of populations, most often by direct reduction methods. Such techniques have proved effective in controlling or eliminating the disease; they are most effective when the area involved is small and/or isolated by barriers. The effectiveness of animal reduction programs on rabies is limited by the range of the animals involved, of ingress from surrounding areas for animals incubating the disease, and the continuity of the program; at least two maximum incubation periods of the disease must have elapsed as insurance that incubating animals are not left to serve as a new nucleus of infection. Rabies control programs for wild species have not yet threatened any species with extinction, nor are they likely to in the future.