HEATHER BOA Bullet News GODERICH – Every sick raccoon caught in Goderich’s town limits by the animal control officer and sent for testing has come back positive for roundworm or canine distemper in the past year.
“A year ago last November the Ministry of Natural Resources sent five away and they all were positive,” Bob Trick told the town’s council in his annual report last night. Trick caught nearly 60 raccoons last year, although they weren’t all sent for testing.
“That’s a serious situation,” Trick said, noting roundworms are contagious to humans. Roundworms are not fatal but can be uncomfortable and include symptoms like wheezing, abdominal pain and nausea.
Canine distemper, a viral disease, is not contagious to cats or humans, but can kill an unvaccinated dog in three weeks.
Trick said some people in town are trapping the raccoons themselves and releasing them in rural areas, which only accelerates the spread of disease.
“All we’re doing is transporting the disease someplace else,” he said.
One skunk and one groundhog also tested positive for canine distemper.
Canine distemper causes symptoms in the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, and the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms of distemper can vary, ranging from lethargy and fever to muscle twitching and seizures. It can be mild or fatal.
2 Comments on "Raccoons in Goderich infected with roundworms, canine distemper"
Great reporting Heather and great info from Mr. Trick. If the raccoons have the intestinal problems and distemper then it ony stand to reason that the black, grey and red squirrels, along with the resident o`possums, are suffering from the same malady so I believe, and have for some time, that we must reduce the squirrel population and the marsupial population and, of course, along with the resident rabbit population.
I should have added the feral and house cats to the list.