Rabid raccoons discovered in Eastport and Sipayik

The threat of rabies is now a fact of life for residents of Downeast Maine, and people are warned to stay away from raccoons and other wild animals and keep their pets inside.
"Eastport and Pleasant Point agreed to schedule a reduced rate rabies inoculation clinic for cats and dogs," reports Eastport Animal Control Officer Tammy Hoche in the wake of the discovery of two rabid raccoons in those communities during a two-week period in May. Little River Veterinary Clinic will conduct a low-cost rabies clinic on Saturday, June 23, at the Perry fire station from 9 to 11 a.m., and there will be one at the Eastport fire station on the same day and time.
Pleasant Point Police Chief Roger Newell says he had gotten a call about a raccoon staggering and falling before getting up again near the Beatrice Rafferty Elementary School and elderly housing dumpster, "and that's just what I saw it doing when I arrived." He reports, "I shot it with a .22 on Middle Road and gave it to Tammy [Hoche]."
The other rabid raccoon had been found dead in the yard of a Quoddy Village resident. Hoche states, "He knew something was wrong with it and called, but when I got there it was already dead."
"We knew rabies was coming, and now it is here. People shouldn't go near raccoons and skunks," stresses Hoche. "It's not safe to touch them. They are a hazard."
"People who keep food out for feral cats need to take that in at night," she adds. "The wild animals are eating from them."
"Raccoons in Eastport are larger than normal. They weigh an average of 25 pounds," Hoche adds. "They are too big for a normal trap. They get stuck and can't turn around."
"If you see what looks like a sick raccoon, don't poke it with a stick. We know that tiny baby raccoons can have rabies but show no symptoms."
"Of all of the wild animals in Eastport, the fox is the most dangerous because they can sneak up behind you and bite you in the ankle," notes Hoche. "But because of the five packs of coyotes in Eastport, you don't see foxes very much any more."

Coordination with New Brunswick
"It's not unusual to us to have [rabid] raccoons in Eastport and Pleasant Point," says Jesse Morris, wildlife biologist and member of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), who works out of Augusta. "Rabies is here."
He points out that with significant rise of rabies being seen in New Brunswick, both the U.S. and Canadian governments are working together to provide one another with expertise surveillance assistance and information, and they have extended the territories where air drops of oral vaccine are being done. "We've been doing a lot of networking," stresses Morris.
Since 2014, efforts have been made to double the size of the current surveillance area, which has now been completed for Washington County. This has been done purely to contain the outbreak being seen in New Brunswick because there could be significant movement of an animal with rabies.
"We have increased our outreach program so that we are testing a lot more road kills," notes Morris.
If residents of Washington County see any raccoons, skunks, coyotes and foxes acting strangely -- such as being aggressive, appearing unafraid of humans, excessively salivating, circling, acting lethargic or paralyzed -- do not touch them and contact the USDA Wildlife Services at 207-629-5178 or 1-866-487-3297 with the location and species found.
So far, in addition to the raccoons in Eastport and Pleasant Point that tested positive in May, rabies testing this year in Washington County has confirmed the disease in a pet cat on January 10 in East Machias, a raccoon on January 18 in Princeton, one skunk on February 9 in Machias and one raccoon on May 1 in Cherryfield.