Wildlife management agencies should participate in rabies control

Rabies control is a complex subject and fits within even more complex natur al and human systems. Rabies in North America is spread almost entirely by wild terrestrial mammals and bats but has its major impacts on humans and e conomics in the areas of public health, pet owners, and agriculture. We bel ieve that wildlife managers should be involved directly in planning and exe cuting wildlife rabies control and even more in the experiments leading to effective oral vaccination programs. Eliminating rabies from terrestrial sy stems by oral vaccination of wildlife is achievable and probably cost-effec tive for public health reasons alone. Control would not be justified by the economic values of the wildlife affected because furbearers rarely have hi gh priority in wildlife management. The attitude of some agencies-that rabi es in raccoons (Procyon lotor) is a positive force because it reduces nuisa nce animal complaints-may increase public health expenditures, and the idea is probably untrue in the long term. Rabies is only one of several serious diseases and parasites that can reduce numbers of the species which spread the disease and rabies has not been demonstrated to have a long-term, seve re effect on numbers. Experience in Ontario has shown that wildlife manager s should participate in rabies control as part of a team, which should incl ude workers from the public health and agricultural sectors of government, plus a variety of other experts, as required. This is Ontario Ministry of N atural Resources, Wildlife and Natural Heritage Science Section, contributi on No. 2000-01.