The U.S. Department of Agriculture will distribute more than 700,000 oral rabies vaccine baits for wildlife across parts of Alabama this month.
The bait program, run by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Wildlife Services program in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Health, aims to prevent the westward spread of rabies most often carried by raccoons.
Small airplanes and helicopters will distribute the baits, which have a smell designed to attract wildlife. Raccoons and other targeted animals that eat the baits are vaccinated against rabies…