GANANOQUE – On a warm day along a dirt road just outside of Gananoque, Meagan Stager is tossing small packages from the window of an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources pickup truck.
These small packets are tasty, waxy rabies vaccine baits. Stager, a summer student at the ministry, is steadily throwing them into the ditch from the passenger side while her project partner, MRN staff Vanessa Phillips, drives slowly.
This bait distribution is part of Ontario’s long-running rabies baiting initiative that takes place every year from July to September. The province highlights it as one of North America’s most effective rabies programs.
Meagan Stager, a summer student with the Ministry of Natural Resources’ wildlife health team, holds a map that will help guide rabies vaccine bait distribution in rural Gananoque on July 27, 2026. Meghan Balogh / The Kingston Whig-Standard
Mostly conducted by vehicle or aircraft in rural regions and on foot as needed in urban parks, Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has handed out over 10 million vaccine baits since 2015.
According to the provincial government, this effort has successfully eliminated both raccoon and fox variant rabies from southern Ontario.
The baits target raccoons, skunks, and foxes-common hosts for various strains of rabies-a serious viral illness that affects mammals’ central nervous systems and can be fatal.
“We have several areas we aim to cover during our time here and there’s a specific number of baits we’re supposed to distribute,” Phillips mentioned during their baiting session.
Each time Stager tosses a bait, she notes its location to keep track of their distribution.
The Gananoque area sits within the Thousand Islands region and serves as a natural entry point for wildlife moving from the United States into Ontario-sometimes bringing rabies with them.
“Baiting in eastern Ontario has been happening for over 20 years,” Anne Mc Carthy, a science transfer specialist with MNR’s rabies control program, told the Whig earlier this summer. “In eastern Ontario along the St. Lawrence River where you find Gananoque and its islands, it’s easier for animals like raccoons to cross over. The Niagara region-from St. Catharines down to Fort Erie-is also baited annually.”
Meagan Stager distributes rabies vaccine baits in rural Gananoque on July 27, 2026. Meghan Balogh / The Kingston Whig-Standard
Mc Carthy noted that raccoon variant rabies is common along North America’s east coast.
“It’s been gradually moving northward while they’ve tried pushing it south in the U. S., but it has shown up here a few times,” she explained.
A case involving a rabid raccoon occurred in Brockville back in 1999. More recently though, Quebec has been facing its largest outbreak ever-with 171 recorded cases among raccoons and two cases in cats so far this year-putting pressure on Ontario’s border security.
In December 2024, despite control measures being implemented by Quebec’s Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources reported identifying another case of raccoon rabies within their province.
Quebec has intensified its control efforts too; distributing over 815 thousand vaccine baits across 114 municipalities including Estrie and Montérégie regions as well as Montreal-area parks.
The U. S. also faces ongoing outbreaks; recent reports from upstate New York and Vermont have increased concerns about Canada’s borders getting affected again.
“It’s coming at us from all sides,” Mc Carthy acknowledged. “We constantly monitor what our biggest concerns are at any given moment-right now it’s eastern Ontario because of what’s happening in Quebec.”
Mc Carthy stated that MNR remains committed to its successful long-term baiting program while also testing dead wildlife found near areas considered high-risk-including islands within the St. Lawrence River.
“We make sure to test any fresh dead animals found there with intact heads because we need brain samples for testing,” she said.
Since starting these initiatives back in 2015, more than 21 thousand wild animals have been vaccinated alongside over 37 thousand wildlife samples tested overall.
This proactive strategy appears effective according to Mc Carthy since half a century ago; things were quite different concerning rabies cases in Ontario!
“Arctic fox rabies entered southern Ontario during late ’50s leading up until around ’89 when our current program began-we averaged about fifteen hundred annual cases,” Mc Carthy explained further stating they were once viewed as ‘the North American capital’ for such outbreaks.”
A Ministry of Natural Resources distributed vaccination bait shown on July27th ,2026.Meghan Balogh/The Kingston Whig-Standard.Consequently,Certain sections were formulated between1990and91 leadingto large-scalevaccination programsbut only rolled outin early90s resulting inthe eliminationof Arcticfoxrabidesthrough proactivecontrolmeasureswitha significant decreasebyearly2000s. Meanwhile, raccoonrabieseffectively crossedbordersintothe Brockvillearea followingthat period but sawsuccessfullycontained by2005..
..
Meagan Stager distributes rabies vaccine baits in rural Gananoque on July 27, 2026. Meghan Balogh / The Kingston Whig-Standard
Mc Carthy noted that raccoon variant rabies is common along North America’s east coast.
“It’s been gradually moving northward while they’ve tried pushing it south in the U. S., but it has shown up here a few times,” she explained.
A case involving a rabid raccoon occurred in Brockville back in 1999. More recently though, Quebec has been facing its largest outbreak ever-with 171 recorded cases among raccoons and two cases in cats so far this year-putting pressure on Ontario’s border security.
In December 2024, despite control measures being implemented by Quebec’s Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources reported identifying another case of raccoon rabies within their province.
Quebec has intensified its control efforts too; distributing over 815 thousand vaccine baits across 114 municipalities including Estrie and Montérégie regions as well as Montreal-area parks.
The U. S. also faces ongoing outbreaks; recent reports from upstate New York and Vermont have increased concerns about Canada’s borders getting affected again.
“It’s coming at us from all sides,” Mc Carthy acknowledged. “We constantly monitor what our biggest concerns are at any given moment-right now it’s eastern Ontario because of what’s happening in Quebec.”
Mc Carthy stated that MNR remains committed to its successful long-term baiting program while also testing dead wildlife found near areas considered high-risk-including islands within the St. Lawrence River.
“We make sure to test any fresh dead animals found there with intact heads because we need brain samples for testing,” she said.
Since starting these initiatives back in 2015, more than 21 thousand wild animals have been vaccinated alongside over 37 thousand wildlife samples tested overall.
This proactive strategy appears effective according to Mc Carthy since half a century ago; things were quite different concerning rabies cases in Ontario!
“Arctic fox rabies entered southern Ontario during late ’50s leading up until around ’89 when our current program began-we averaged about fifteen hundred annual cases,” Mc Carthy explained further stating they were once viewed as ‘the North American capital’ for such outbreaks.”
A Ministry of Natural Resources distributed vaccination bait shown on July27th ,2026.Meghan Balogh/The Kingston Whig-Standard.Consequently,Certain sections were formulated between1990and91 leadingto large-scalevaccination programsbut only rolled outin early90s resulting inthe eliminationof Arcticfoxrabidesthrough proactivecontrolmeasureswitha significant decreasebyearly2000s. Meanwhile, raccoonrabieseffectively crossedbordersintothe Brockvillearea followingthat period but sawsuccessfullycontained by2005..This broughtaboutanothercasein Hamiltonin2015but nothingwasreportedafterwardsupuntilpresentdayasfrom2023specifically said Mc Carthy ensuringtheyhaven’tencounteredanymoreinstancesofthisnaturewithin Ontario – allowingthemto maintainhighlyfavorableconditionsforwildlife safetyoverall! Furthermore, baitsthatarecurrently usedwere licensedoutoftheprogramdeveloped collaborativelywithacademicpartnersandindustrysinceestablishingit backin2013 they’renow producedlocallyalongside being utilizednotonlywithinourprovincebutalsoacross Quebec New Brunswickstatesincluding NY due totheirproveneffectiveness.”.
A sampleofthesmallrabievaccinebaitsusedbytheministryisdisplayed July27th ,2026.(Imagecredit: Meghan Balogh/ The Kingston Whig-Standard)
Inside eachbaitpackage liesacapsule containingliquidvaccine whichdoes notharbortherabiesvirus thusposingno threattowards humansor pets.“Itworkswellwithraccoons skunksandfoxes,” noted Mc Carthy emphasizingthereisstillvariability comparedtoinjectablevaccines providedforpetsalthoughmostgenerally show goodsuccess rates.” Through annual immunizations amongwildlife populations, MNRaimsatsustaininganimmuneenvironment thwartingspreadingthedisease.” In situationswherecasesaredetectedtheprogramquicklyshiftsitsfocusonrespondingappropriately.” For instancewhen terrestrialrabiesaoccurs emergencymeasureswillbeimplementedover50km radius fortwo years accompaniedby constantmonitoringsurveillanceefforts ensuringeffectivecontainment measuresare upheld.” Despitehumansdyinginvariouspartsaroundworld annuallyduetoexposureagainstrabiedanimals fatalities remainrareinthisthecountrytoday. Thelasttransmissionrecordedwasfromnon-flyinganimalstohumanhostoccurredbackduring1967 adding28deathscaseswhichspannedsixprovincesoveryears mostlyattributableto batexposures mostrecentassociatedan Ontarioindividualwho succumbedinyear2024 aftercomingintocontactwitharabidbat! Predominantly recentdeathslinkedhavebeenfoundresultsof interactionsamongbats across North Americawide posingchallengesasaresultvaccineisn’tfeasibleyetaddressedingroupeducationalinitiatives instead”. “Around7%testedannuallyturnpositive regardingtheirstatustowards Rabidae although individualsbeingexaminedgenerallyidentifiedas eitherdead, sick or hadinteractionswithhumans/pets indicatingtherecouldpotentiallyexistlowernumberswithinwilderpopulations. Mc Carthystatedadding vigilance mustensureprotective precautions takenwhenevercontactoccursbetweenhumans& bats always screenedbyhealth authorities!” Treatment protocolshavealsoevolved formonitoringpossiblehumanexposures Ruxshin Amooyan, a publichealthinspector workingunder Southeast Public Health organizationmentioned summertime interviews indicating regularinvestigationsofwildlifeencounters periodically beingconductedthroughout Kingstonregion.” If anyonehas hadanyinteractionwithexoticanimalswe urge immediatecommunication”,”said Amooyan stressing importanceexaminingbehavioralpatterns reflectingconditionsoffendingcreaturesalongwithguidancegivenpertainingto determiningpossibilitycertainanimalscarryingvirusriskprofile.” Given howoftentransmissions occurvia infectedsaliva bites/scratches mustbeapproached seriously needingclean immediately! Within Southeast Public Healthjurisdictionsapproximately1700investigationseachconcerningwildlifeexposuresoccurredbackinyeartotalcountconclusivelyleadingpublichealthauthoritiesto advicerabiespost-exposure prophylaxistreatmentsdependingoutcomes thereafter administeredusually twoweeks post-exposed event”. As Amaximumpriorityresidingpet ownersmustkeeptheircompanions fullyupdatedstandingagainstregulationmandates surroundinganti-rabies immunization policies.” Domesticpets exhibitingaggressive behaviors may undergoa10-dayobservationperiodprior administeringtreatmentfollowingattacks possible signs beginshowing resemblance towardsymptoms observable amongst infected populations likewise important thoroughwashing wounds occur through directcontact animal sources!” Always stayawareregardingkeepingdomesticcompanionanimal vaccinationsuptodate.”,”Amooyanstatedemphasizing benefits arisingquicker interventions support potentialinjuredpartiesaidingpreventativehealthcareendeavorsavoidanceunfortunateconsequences.”
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