Is Rabies Also on the Rise?

The Real Truth About Vaccines

If you have been reading the recent stories about people being exposed to rabies in bats, raccoons, skunks, dogs, cats, foxes, coyotes, groundhogs, hamsters, and baby goats, you are probably wondering what’s going on!

Why does it seem like there are so many wild animals with rabies these days?

Wild animals that can expose us and our pets to rabies!

Is Rabies Also on the Rise?

Rabies that is typically controlled by the USDA through their Oral Rabies Vaccination programs…

So what has happened, if anything?

The National Rabies Program budget has actually been flat since 2006 and an increasing number of rabies responses has depleted available resources.

Not only have we not increased funding to the National Rabies Program to keep up with inflation and rising costs, Donald Trump tried to strip $6.275 million from the program in 2019!

The National Rabies Program distributes oral rabies vaccine baits from low-flying aircraft and by hand in areas prone to rabies outbreaks.

And although they have gotten some emergency funding, it went to help rebuild strategic vaccine-bait stockpile and respond to a few larger outbreaks, which is why the total baits distributed each year seems to be up recently.

Baits peaked at about 12 million/year in 2006 and then dropped as funding never increased to support a higher level of bait distribution.

What else?

While the United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) has requested the Congress appropriate a minimun of $38 million to the National Rabies Management Program, there is no sign that they are raising it from the $29 million that it has been stuck at for years.

And then there are the massive CDC and USDA staffing cuts!

RFK, Jr thinks that just one person manning the CDC rabies office can handle the traffic…

That included cuts to USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that protects us from conditions like screwworm and rabies…

Donald Trump also terminated billions in CDC grants to state and local health departments, some of which would have gone to treat rabies exposures.

So, what about rabies cases in wildlife?

Are they up?

Unfortunately, rabies does seem to be on the rise in many parts of the country, including:

• Northeastern United States: Vermont, northern Maine, and probably adjoining areas of New York/New Hampshire are dealing with an increase in rabies in raccoons.

• Rhode Island: rabies in raccoons is already substantially exceeding recent annual averages.

• Oregon: is at or near record levels of rabies in bats.

• Minnesota: has experienced a pronounced recent increase in rabies in skunks

• New York: Nassau declared an “imminent public health threat” in July 2025 after more than 25 rabid raccoons and feral cats were found in the county

• Arizona: has seen an increase in rabid foxes and foxes, especially in Cochise County.

• Indiana: detected an increase in rabid skunks since 2024

• North Carolina: cases of rabies in skunks and raccoons have tripled recently in Franklin County

And that means your pets will be at risk to get rabies if they encounter any of these rabid animals.

Get them vaccinated and protected.

And teach your kids to stay away from wild animals, especially bats, and seek immediate medical attention if you think that you or your child might have been exposed to rabies.

More on Preventing Rabies

• Propaganda About Rabies Vaccine Deaths

• How Many People Die With Rabies Each Year?

• Why Do You Need a Booster if You Had Pre-Exposure Rabies Shots?

• When Was the Last Time Someone Died from Being Bitten by a Rabid Dog in the United States?

• National Wildlife Services Advisory Committee (NWSAC) Recommendations Report

• Rabies resurgence in USA: Increasing wildlife outbreaks and six human deaths signal a greater public health threat

• Rabies is Still Here: Epidemiology, Outbreaks, and Costs of Prevention in the United States