Government steps up efforts to eradicate rabies on Northern Peninsula

Rick Woodford, Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods, today announced details of increased efforts to eradicate rabies on the island portion of the province. The new large scale eradication program will involve the use of baits to vaccinate wild animals against the disease. The vaccine baits will be dropped by aircraft in specific areas on the Northern Peninsula.

Minister Woodford said a large scale eradication program demonstrates government�s commitment to protecting the public and animals from harmful diseases such as rabies.

"We have consulted with experts in this area and their advice was that it is better to get rid of the disease when you can than to allow the possibility for it to spread and have to deal with the consequences for years to come," said the minister, whose department is the lead department in the rabies eradication program. "We feel this is a prudent next step in our ongoing efforts to address the rabies outbreak on the Northern Peninsula."

The estimated cost of the overall rabies eradication program is $2.5 million, which will be reviewed during the year depending upon the results of additional testing.

The minister said the initial phase of the program will see approximately 80,000 baits dropped by aircraft around the communities of St. Paul�s and Jackson�s Arm, as well as along a southern boundary to contain the disease within the Northern Peninsula. From that point, based on the availability of bait, weather and the seasonal variations in fox behaviour, baits will be dropped progressively northwards eventually vaccinating the whole Northern Peninsula.

"We expect the first vaccine baits to be dropped within the next few weeks. Monitoring will take place within and outside the eradication area to measure the effectiveness of the program and to detect any possible evidence of the disease outside of its known limits," added the minister. "As well, any new rabies cases will be used to adjust the limits and details of this plan."

Minister Woodford stressed that communities on the Northern Peninsula will be advised in advance of all details on the use of these vaccine baits.

"The baits have a label on them which includes standard precautions as well as a 1-800 number in case someone finds the baits and is unaware of their purpose," said the minister. "However, we will ensure that all communities will be fully educated about the vaccine baits and such details as when the aircraft will be dropping the baits."

The vaccine bait to be used has been developed through the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and is produced by Artemis Technologies, Inc. (Guelph, Ontario). It has been tested and approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for use in Canada to control this disease and has been successfully used in Ontario since 1989. During this time period, over 12 million baits have been dropped in that province.

As part of the approval process for the use of this vaccine, the provincial government submitted an environmental assessment document to the federal government (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) outlining the science behind this program and the safeguards that will be taken. This document is available on the web at www.gov.nl.ca/agric (under Rabies). Maps and further details of the province�s new eradication program are also available on this website.

Minister Woodford said a large scale eradication program involves a number of different aspects, many of which government has already started, including:

1) the vaccination and control of dogs and cats;

2) the collection of carcasses of foxes, coyotes and other potentially affected animals from the surveillance areas to test for the limits of spread of the disease; and,

3) providing the public with up to date information on measures being taken to control the disease and the role that the public plays in this process.

Though the Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods is the lead agency, Minister Woodford said the eradication program is a cooperative effort involving many provincial and federal agencies including the Department of Health and Community Services; the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation; the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Parks Canada (Gros Morne National Park).

For more information on the operational aspects of the eradication program, please contact Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Hugh Whitney, Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods, (709) 729- 6879 or Wayne Barney, Species Management Program, Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, (709) 637-2014.

Media contact:

Sonia B. Glover, Communications, Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods, (709) 729-6183
Melony O�Neill, Communications, Department of Tourism Culture and Recreation, (709) 729-0928.

2003 03 03                                     12:50 p.m.