Vets warn pet owners after rabies detected in 2 bats in B.C.
Veterinarians in British Columbia are warning pet owners about an increase in bat-pet interactions and confirmed cases of rabies in bats. Experts suggest that wildfires may be displacing bats, leading to more frequent encounters with humans and domestic animals.
Why it matters
Rabies is a fatal disease, and increased wildlife-human contact poses a significant public health risk.
Dr. Jordie Schnarr said it's been an odd year for bat activity overall in the Sea-to-Sky region, with her Whistler clinic having handled about 25 bat-pet run-ins so far, up from a few in a typical year. They handled six incidents on Tuesday alone.
Even more concerning, Schnarr said, is that one of the four bats they sent in for testing this year came back positive for rabies. The results for two others are still pending.
“[It's] definitely a change from what would be considered normal here,” she said. “Normally, we send a bat like once every five years."
Veterinarian Jordie Schnarr said this year has been an outlier in the number of pet interactions with bats in Whistler. (CBC News) A bat also tested positive in Campbell River near Willow Point on July 24, a vet clinic there has warned .
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