Keep Your Family Safe from Rabies

Yates County Public Health wants you and your family to be safe from rabies. Rabies is fatal, but it is 100% preventable! If you or your pet has contact with a wild animal, there is a chance that the animal could spread the rabies virus. Animals most likely to carry rabies are raccoons, bats, skunks, and foxes.

How to stay safe from rabies:

• Vaccinate your dogs, cats, ferrets, and livestock against rabies. Keeping your pets up-todate could save their life.

• Do not leave pet food outside. It will draw animals like raccoons into your yard. Bird feeders can also attract unintended wildlife.

• If sick-acting wildlife enters your yard, bring your family and pets inside and let the animal wander away. If the animal does not wander off and is threatening, notify Yates County Animal Control through the Yates County Sheriff’s Office at 315-536-4438.

• If a wild animal bites a person or pet, contact Yates County Public Health to find out what needs to be done to keep your family and pets healthy. Public Health may need to test the animal to determine if it has rabies.

• If you find a bat in a room with a person or pet who was left alone, or if you wake up to find a bat while you are sleeping, try to catch the bat and call Public Health.

To keep your family safe, avoid contact with wildlife, keep your pet’s rabies vaccine up to date, and report exposure to wild or stray animals to Yates County Public Health. Contact Public Health at 315-536-5160, or after hours, call the Sheriff’s Office at (315) 536-4438 and ask for the Public Health staff person on call. Yates County Public Health offers free rabies vaccine clinics. The next clinic will be held on Saturday, June 3, 2023, from 9 – 10 a.m. at the Penn Yan Fireman’s Field at 110 Hicks St. Penn Yan, NY. If you have any questions, call YCPH at 315-536-5160 or visit www.yatescountypublichealth. org.

Keep Your Family Safe from Rabies

Latest Stories

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password