McHenry County Department of Health,
Animal Control Division, urges residents to adopt a “hands-off” approach to
local wildlife.
In separate incidents, Animal
Control reports two residents were recently bitten by raccoons after
individuals left out food. One individual is currently undergoing rabies
prophylaxis treatment.
Wild animals are attracted to your
home by food and shelter. Remove these temptations and you can cut your risks
of structural damage, home invasion and other problems.
The Illinois Department of Natural
Resources offers these tips:
- Do not encourage wildlife (squirrels, raccoons) by feeding or leaving food for them.
- Don’t allow bird food to accumulate on the ground.
- Don’t place food scraps in gardens or compost bins.
- Keep pet food and water containers indoors, especially at night.
- If you have fruit trees, harvest or dispose of fruit when it is ripe.
- Use metal or durable plastic trash containers.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), wild animals account for 9 out of 10 rabies cases
in the United States and raccoons make up almost half of those. Most
raccoons are healthy and harmless but you should never touch or approach a wild
raccoon, and you should definitely not feed them.
Racoon bites have been reported by McHenry County Animal Control
Read more about it from the
University of Illinois Extension’s “Living with Wildlife in Illinois” at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/
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