| Members of the Potsdam Fire Department met Tuesday afternoon to assist with the St. Lawrence County Rabies Bait Drop Program. This program is done every fall and is sponsored by St Lawrence County Public Health. Members traveled around the Village of Potsdam distributing the small blocks containing the rabies vaccine. The blocks are dropped around dumpsters, vegetation, gardens and along the edges of wooded areas where small animals are more likely to encounter the bait.
The most common questions received when distributing the baits are:
Question: What is the bait made of, and what does it look like?
Answer: The bait is made of fish meal, a binder, and fish oil in the form of a hard brown pellet about 1-1/4" square in size. Inside is a vaccine chamber, which is filled with the rabies vaccine. The manufacturer has printed a toll-free number on each bait, so that anyone finding a bait can call for information.
Question: Is the bait harmful to children or pets?
Answer: Millions of baits have been dropped in New York and Canada, with no ill effects reported in people or pets. Even if you are exposed to the vaccine, you cannot get rabies from it. While the bait is not harmful to children, pets or other wildlife, it should not be handled or disturbed, so that it can be eaten by raccoons and anther small animals.
Potsdam Fire members participating were Chief Chris Taylor, Firefighters Randy Webster and Aaron Farney. Many other Village of Potsdam officials assisted including Village Administrator Mike Weil, Community Development Director Paul Stevenson, Potsdam Police Chief John Kaplan and his wife, along with a few other members of the community. |
