• wildcardology@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    1 day ago

    I think the officials overreacted, I understand that rabies is a nasty fatal disease. But the euthanasia is completely unnecessary. The officials say it’s to determine that the animals don’t have rabies after peanut bit one of them. If the animals turned out negative for rabies then it means no danger, if positive the only thing they can do is vaccinate the worker, there’s nothing else they can do but wait. Why not just vaccinate the worker and let the animals live?

    Also sheltered animals are in no danger of having rabies unless they are bitten by a rabid animal outside.

    • HappyFrog
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      edit-2
      21 hours ago

      You cant test for rabies without euthanasing the animal.

      “…to rule out rabies, the test must include a full cross-section of tissue from both the brain stem and cerebellum.” - https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/php/laboratories/diagnostic.html

      He had just taken in a raccoon so the squirrel could have gotten it from that, and they don’t know if the owner had been lying about taking it outside.

      This is all the owner’s fault for not taking the squirrel to a proper animal sanctuary.

        • HappyFrog
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          19 hours ago

          If a animal is tested positive the human have to undergo about 2-4 vaccinations that might need to be repeated and will cost a great amount, or they die. The vaccination has a lot of side effects.

          • deranger@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            18 hours ago

            It doesn’t have any more potential side effects than any other vaccine. It’s not special in this regard.

            • HappyFrog
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              3
              ·
              16 hours ago

              Sure, that makes sense for a country with socialized health care. You still shouldn’t keep wild animals as pets.