From what I just read, it can spread the virus and make it difficult to diagnose if it had rabies at all.

Other species can catch it. Bats, rodents. Should be reported to wildlife management so they can put out a community bulletin on rabies, and what to do.

Call the Town Manager's office to ask them who to report to. Sometimes there is an animal control officer, or sometimes the wild jurisdiction is with state personnel. But everyone has an interest in controlling rabid animals.

But they get a condition that appears similar. I can't remember what the condition is called.

is to proceed to an ER immediately within the hour and begin rabies treatment because bats can bite, carry rabies, but you can't feel the bite. So you could feel fine but die within 30 days without treatment.

We spotted one in our back yard years ago, and before either of us could get a gun it had toddled under our shed. My husband hung out in back, hoping it would re-emerge soon, while I went to our various neighbors who had dogs and warned them they should bring them in for a while until we, or animal control, could get it. About the time I was at the neighbor’s across the street, I heard the gunshot. But of course my sweet but a bit over-eager neighbor, who was a disabled vet in an all-terrain mechanized wheelchair, immediately bailed out the door with his desert eagle. The raccoon was dead but still twitching a bit, so he decided to “double tap” it just to make sure it wouldn’t suffer, dontcha know. My husband had been very careful to not shoot it in the head, so animal control could test the brain tissue. Well, so much for that… When the officer finally showed up and heard what happened, she just sighed. But, she could see enough of what was left of part of its head to make an educated guess that this was distemper, not rabies.

Animal control can be accessed via police dispatch. That's the way it works here.

if you live in a neighborhood with houses within 150 yards of the animal unless an qualified expert shot. Calling Game and Fish may be the best option.

This may be one reason people didn't run for their gun. Also, the number of people actually seeing the thing were probably quite limited. Lots of weird stuff happens under people's noses and they don't notice. Scary. But we do have lots of critters (too many), they are so stealthy. I don't know how many raccoon's we have in our yard right now. Whenever hubby cleans the roof, he gives me a report.

Here's a strange anecdotal report about wildlife. I was blockwalking for a candidate. Hubby was driving his truck. I went up to a door, did whatever and returned to the truck.
Hubby said, "You didn't notice that coyote?".
"What coyote?"
"It was right next to you".
"What?"

When I exited the truck, I went to the back of truck. There was a small drainage culvert with railing. The coyote must have come up from the ditch and into the neighborhood. When I exited the truck, I crossed it's path, but I was looking at the address of the home. However, it never made a sound and stealthy disappeared (likely into the ditch) I wasn't even aware of my surroundings until hubby told me. A dog would have barked. I must have been inches from the thing.


Coyotes during daylight are extremely rare around here. We don't have an abundance of them either. It obviously wasn't sick because it's reflexes were "on-par".

The US got fewer than China or South Korea, still respectable.

I don't think shooting live animals in an urban environment is an Olympic event. Maybe in Los Angeles.



Seriously, I would not shoot a rabid raccoon. By the time I looked up the legality of such an act in my neighborhood, the animal would be long gone. Normally, my city frowns on hunting within city limits.

But if a dog or child were bitten by a rabid animal, and the bite victim could not describe what happened to the owner or parent, it would turn into a preventable tragedy.