Re: Rabies!

["Duncan Fletcher" <dfletche@gte.net>]

The carcass is still dangerous - for how long, I don't know. I would
certainly notify the neighbors. If per chance you find someone to shoot it,
I would wear heavy rubber gloves, place body in multiple plastic garbage
bags and put that in a garbage can, remove gloves by turning them inside out
so you don't touch the outside of the gloves, dump them in the plastic
garbage bag and let the department of health deal with it on Monday. And try
not to shoot it in the head. The brain will be analyzed to determine if the
animal has rabies.

Duncan Fletcher
dfletche@gte.net


----- Original Message -----
From: "Lif Strand" <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>

>
> OK  gang - I need some help here.  I just got a phone call from my sister
> who lives in a more or less rural area of New York State.  A few hours ago
> a skunk wandered through her yard - it was walking erratically, spraying
at
> nothing, and drooling.  What does this sound like to you?
>
> She called her veterinarian, who said call the health dept.  Didn't even
> provide a phone number.  It's Saturday (don't all these things happen on
> days when offices are closed?) and no one was there to help her.  She
> called the police, and they took an hour to show up.  By that time the
> skunk had wandered under a shed attached to my sister's house, and the
> policeman said he could/would not deal with it unless it was out in the
> open.  He also said that there were strict laws about disposal of a rabid
> animal and she would be the one responsible for dealing with the
> carcass.  But he didn't provide any information.
>
> Dede doesn't have a gun, doesn't know anyone with one.  Obviously she
can't
> wait around for the police to show up if/when the skunk reappears.  She
> hopes it will die under there, but then that may cause more
> problems.  Meanwhile, she's got her dog & cat locked in the house, and her
> kids too.  She's afraid to let them out, but can't keep everyone locked up
> forever.
>
> Questions:
> 1)  What should she do?
> 2)  If the skunk dies under the shed, and if it has rabies, is the carcass
> still dangerous?
> 3)  Should she notify the neighbors that there may be a problem with
> rabies, or will that just cause more problems for her.  On the other hand,
> if she doesn't notify them and the skunk has rabies and it wanders off her
> property (it's just a large lot, maybe half an acre) and bites someone, is
> Dede liable?  It's not her skunk, but she does know about this potential
> rabies problem.
>
> Thank you so much!  Lif
>