If you are living in Corbin or Whitley County and you see a raccoon acting strangely, especially during daylight hours, then do not approach it and do not try to kill it. Instead, contact the Corbin Police Department or animal control.
This is advice that both the Corbin Police Department and the Whitley County Health Department are giving to local residents, who see a raccoon that appears disoriented, aggressive or otherwise is acting abnormally.
Whitley County Health Department Public Health Director Marcy Rein said that the health department has sent one raccoon that was acting ill to the lab for rabies testing, but it came back negative.
There have been additional calls, particularly to animal control, about raccoons acting ill and erratic in the county. There is speculation at this point that it is probably distemper, but they are planning to send the next trapped raccoon for testing just to confirm this, Rein said.
She said that her advice to people is not to interact with wild animals, particularly if the wild animal is acting unusual or ill.
“We definitely don’t want people to kill raccoons and bring them to us for sampling,” Rein said noting that sampling requires specific tissues and specific handling.
“If people have concerns, they should call animal control, which can trap the animal and then we can deal with the testing,” Rein added.
Anyone seeing a raccoon or another wild animal acting strangely can contact the Corbin Police Department at (606) 528-1122, or Whitley County E-911 at (606) 549-6017. They will coordinate with the appropriate authorities to handle the situation safely.
Rein also encouraged people to make sure that their pets are kept up-to-date on their rabies vaccination just in case as rabies can be carried in a variety of animals. In Kentucky, this is most commonly skunks and bats.
