Not many people know about the rabies epidemic in Central Park. I believe he Central Park Conservancy and the Parks Dept. have tried to keep it out of the newspapers for fear of scaring people from coming into the park but a major health emergency of this magnitude should be made public. I don't know why the Times or the Post haven't picked-up the story.
With more than 100 rabid raccoons trapped and removed from Central Park it would seem that health officials would be more concerned about it spreading into the dog (and cat) populations. Many dog owners do not have their dog's rabies vaccinations up-to-date and there are quite a few feral cats living in and around the park.
Someone reported an incident of a raccoon attaching a woman near the Reservoir last week. I only found out about it because it was reported on a birding listserv.
I urge Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Benepe to step up to the plate on this one and do a much better job about informing the public about the risks associated with rabid raccoons in Central Park. This is a ticking time bomb.
You can find more info on the NYC Health Dept. site: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/cd/cdrab-borough.shtml
Photo courtesy of NYCPhotoNews.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment