You see an injured wild animal.. what to do?
Jeremy Roebuck and Bonnie Cook share the stories behind their Montco beat.
You see an injured wild animal.. what to do?
You see an injured wild animal. Its predicament breaks your heart. What to do?
Despite your best intentions, the most prudent course of action is not to have contact with the animal, a health official said.
Larry Taltoan, Radnor Township’s health officer, said he understands the instincts of Good Samaritans who want to help. But, he said, “Wild animals are best viewed from a distance.”
Why? Because they can carry disease - like the red fox that a man handled Monday afternoon in Wayne. Officers received a call at 2 p.m. and arrived to find a man holding an injured red fox in a blanket.
The fox was tested for rabies at the state’s Lionville, Pa., laboratory. Uh oh - the fox was rabid. The state’s health authorities put out a call for the man to turn himself in because he had left the scene without identifying himself.
Rabies is a viral disease affecting the nervous system. It is usually transmitted to humans via the saliva of an infected animal, according to info provided by the state health department.
Yesterday, Inquirer reporter Peter Mucha wrote that the man had been found. Holli Senior, deputy press secretary for the health department, said it did not appear that the man had been exposed to the fox’s saliva, so he was spared a series of rabies injections.
“He did not need to receive treatment,” Senior wrote in an email.
Rabies continues to be a significant public health in Pennsylvania. Since 2000, between 350 and 500 animals were confirmed by laboratory tests to have rabies.
In 2010, the rabies cases were as follows: 53 percent were raccoons, 14 percent each in skunks and cats; seven percent were bats; and six percent were foxes.
“Wild animals should not be handled or kept as pets,” Senior wrote.
In contrast to the situation in animals, human rabies in Pennsylvania is rare. The last diagnosed human case was in 1984, she said.
Should be titled "What not to do"; the headlineled me to expect a helpful list of phone numbers or other contacts, ultimately leading to a loss of two minutes I'll never recover...- Unbelievable. Does the editor who write the headlines actaully read the story?
- Shoot it— J.Bradley
Comment removed.- actually, J Bradley is correct for the most part. Vets cannot by law treat wild animals(I've tried), and if the animal is suffering,it is probably the most human thing to do. I know of situations up state where "unofficial advice" was given to do such thing — Tom813
- meant "humane" — Tom813
- HOW TO HELP THE WILD ANIMAL: Get in touch with licensed wildlife people such as Schuylkill Valley Wildlife Center, phone 215-482-7300 or online at http://www.schuylkillcenter.org/departments/wildlife/ Their webpage also lists additional wildlife centers.— lpatton
- Out in the woods, I would shoot it if seriously hurt, wounded, or acting strangely. Why leave the animal to suffer a slow death? Small mammals are particularly dangerous not only because of rabies, but also because they can become ferocious when hurt or wounded and give the unwary good samaritan a nasty bite.— DonQ
- The problem with this case is the the guy handled the animal and there is virtually no chance to determine if he had saliva on his hands. If he rubbed his eyes or nose, the rabies could be transmitted through those mucus membranes. I just completed a rabies series for that reason. It is unbelievable how some public officials comment about looking for symptoms when the patient is effectively dead at that point. But the truly disturbing this is the stupidity of an individual handling a wild animal. The SE PA are is strange. No one outside this area would do that.
— Dutch-wayne
Contact Davis at cdavis@phillynews.com or 610-313-8109.
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