'100 per cent fatal': ban on importing dogs aimed at reducing rabies risk

although canada has no active rabies cases, vets say the ban is in response to dogs coming from other countries with false vaccination documentation.

by robin roberts

published sep 07, 2022

6 minute read

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6 minute read

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canada currently has no active rabies cases

dr. cliff redford, a veterinarian and owner of wellington veterinary hospital in markham, ontario, says the ban is, unfortunately, justified. getty

three years ago, when a 21-year-old vancouver island man died from contracting rabies after a bat encounter in broad daylight, most canadians were shocked. there hadn’t been a case of a human exposure in canada before this one since 2007. “for most people, rabies is a foreign thing,” says j. scott weese, a professor at the ontario veterinary college and director for the centre for public health and zoonoses at the university of guelph. “[they know] we vaccinate dogs and cats and some livestock. maybe they know a bit about [rabies in] bats or wildlife but they don’t tend to understand the nuances of it. rabies is 100 per cent fatal if you get it, but it’s almost 100 per cent preventable. the key is reducing the risk of exposure.”

but reducing that risk has resulted in a devastating blow to animal rescue groups around the world.

rabies kills about 59,000 people every year

according to the university of guelph, the rabies virus kills some 59,000 people every year, almost all in developing countries in africa and asia, and almost all from dogs in areas where the canine rabies virus variant is present. which is why the canadian food inspection agency (cfia) announced a ban on the importation of dogs from over 100 countries, beginning sept. 28, world rabies day. animal rescue groups and animal rights advocates are understandably up in arms, calling the decision heartbreaking and nonsensical, putting thousands of dogs in foreign countries at risk.

and although the agency acknowledged that canada does not have any active cases of canine rabies, which is different from the variant found in skunks, foxes, raccoons and bats, it says dogs with the disease were imported into canada last year.

dr. cliff redford, a veterinarian and owner of wellington veterinary hospital in markham, ontario, says the ban is, unfortunately, justified.

“there has been a slew of falsely documented dogs coming into canada from a lot of these countries that they put the ban on. it started to become clear to us veterinarians, so i’m assuming it was to the cfia as well, that they were never vaccinated,” he says. “i’ve had several cases at my clinic where puppies, six to eight weeks old, came from breeders in eastern europe and were given to a middle person who would then sell them, often on kijiji. these animals had rabies vaccine certificates, all signed by veterinarians. everything looked legitimate, except veterinarians realized you cannot rabies vaccinate a dog unless it’s 14 weeks or older.” (he says it’s “incredibly rare for a cat to get rabies; even if they’re not vaccinated, their immune system often fights it off.”)

redford says there are always people who will find ways to scam a system, and understands why the cfia was forced to make the decision on the ban.

“i love and applaud the animal rescue groups here in canada,” he says. “they want what’s best for the animals, but they need to understand that if the government allows one animal in with rabies and it bites say, a child, and that child dies, nobody wants that. the government needs to do what is reasonable to protect the public. it’s hard for me to say that as a veterinarian, but i recognize it’s needed.”

it’s especially hard since redford, known as the “worldwide vet”, volunteers his services around the world. he was recently on the poland-ukraine border treating and vaccinating dogs coming across with refugees from ukraine, for organizations such as the centaurus foundation, the ada foundation and dioz.

he says that, during his trip last spring, he had hoped to bring about 150 dogs into canada but they all had ptsd from the war. through a gofundme page, redford raised money so centaurus could hire behaviourists to rehabilitate the dogs, which takes about six months.

“but now with this new law, they can’t come here,” he says.

on the up side, redford says many of these animals will still find homes in other european countries, and possibly the u.s. and for those who want to adopt a pet in need, he says there are plenty waiting in shelters across canada.

what are the signs of rabies?

weese says humans contract rabies primarily through the saliva from an infected animal, such as a skunk, fox, raccoon, coyote or bat, most often from a bite.

“people often dismiss bat bites or don’t realize they’ve been bitten,” he says. “if you’re bitten by a coyote it’s a pretty remarkable event, you pay attention to it and seek health care. if someone has an encounter with a bat, they may not know they’ve been bitten or realize the risks.”

according to the cdc, signs and symptoms of infection can appear up to months or years later. in humans, they can manifest in pain or itching at the site of the bite, followed by weakness, fever, headache, anxiety, confusion, then death. a dog will display either “rage” or “dumb” symptoms.

“dumb rabies is very rare but the animal will be weak, disinterested,” says redford. “they pose little threat because they don’t have the propensity to bite or be aggressive. in the more common rage state, the animal will first have muscle twitching, short mini seizures, confusion, and will be unafraid of people, which causes the aggression.”

he says the “frothing at the mouth” symptom you see in movies and on tv is the result of the animal being unable to swallow its own saliva, which causes the foaming.

humans who suspect they may have been bitten or scratched by a rabid animal should wash the site with soap and water and seek medical attention immediately.

treatment is a series of four antitoxin injections, followed by an antibody shot, according to weese. he says doctors will sometimes do a risk assessment before administering the injections by isolating and observing the animal for 10 days. if the animal is still alive and normal, it doesn’t have rabies.

their decision is also based on whether the bite came from a wild animal or a random dog on the street, the species, how the animal was behaving, and whether it was a provoked or unprovoked bite.

“often [doctors will] err on the side of caution, because the treatment is highly effective and rabies is fatal,” says weese. “but there are some situations where they would deem the risk to be exceptionally low and not do it.”

rabies is expensive

he says the whole process of determining whether or not an animal is rabid is expensive.

“we know that importation of dogs is our main way to import rabies. every time we bring in a rabid animal it costs the health care system a lot of money for investigation and response.”

redford says the key is “vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate.” in ontario, he says, the ministry of natural resources has had a successful campaign since the 1990s of scattering oral vaccine baits on the ground for wildlife to eat.

meanwhile, the “worldwide vet” will continue his rescue missions while reporting on them in a series of documentaries and on his youtube channel. he says he’s heading back to india soon to film a pilot episode for another series highlighting his rescue work and conservation issues around the world.

“definitely keep an eye on us,” he says.

robin roberts is a vancouver-based writer.

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