Seek USDA help on Folly raccoons

A letter to the editor on this page today called our attention to an extraordinarly important effort by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to control deadly rabies in wildlife across the nation. While this state is not yet involved in the research-management project involving raccoons, we hope that will change soon.

The oral rabies vaccination for wildlife is relatively new in America, although a USDA information sheet says it has been in use in Europe since 1980. The wildlife vaccination program in this country was launched by the state of Texas in an effort to eliminate rabies in the coyote and gray fox. The USDA has had the wildlife rabies inoculation program under field investigation since the 1990s in cooperation with a number of states.

According to Richard Chipman, a spokesman for the USDA's wildlife services, the agency has had three projects: The first was to prevent the further spread and eventually to eliminate the canine strain of rabies that got into coyotes, and that has been successful. The second was to target the gray fox strain of rabies, and that is ongoing. The biggest project, according to Mr. Chipman, is to prevent the spread of raccoon rabies westward. That project, which was launched in 2003, involves the establishment of a barrier zone that involves portions of 15 states that run from the border of the U.S. and Canada to Alabama.

Some 12.5 million baits containing the oral rabies vaccination were distributed last year, according to Mr. Chipman. The baits are dropped aerially in the more remote areas or distributed by hand in the more populated areas. The baits, he emphasized, aren't a "silver bullet" but the raccoon project does appear to be working.

While South Carolina wasn't included in the initial raccoon inoculation phase, Mr. Chipman did say there are some local elimination projects, including one in Florida and one on Cape Cod. It strikes us that Folly Beach should be a great candidate for a joint state Department of Health and Environmental Control and USDA wildlife inoculation effort.

According to our recent news account on Folly's raccoon problem, there were five reported cases of rabies on Folly last year. Residents also have reported numerous sightings of raccoons acting erratically and one 14-year resident said the numbers have increased so dramatically she's afraid to go into her yard at night.

Folly and state officials should contact the USDA to determine if the town can qualify for this important wildlife inoculation project that has the potential for saving human lives.