As part of its actions to curb the propagation of rage of the raccoon, the Ministry of the Environment, the fight against climate change, fauna and parks recently added 19 municipalities of Montérégie to the raised surveillance area, including the city of Sainte-Julie.
The discovery of several cases of the disease in raccoons in Quebec since December 2024 has led to an intensification of the means taken by the ministry which will carry out a distribution of vaccine bait until September 20.
About 635,000 vaccine baits will be spread in wooded areas, on the banks of rivers, on the edge of agricultural fields and abandoned buildings and near the trash. The ministry specifies by press release that the vaccination bait “looks like a sachet of greenish ketchup or a khaki green ravioli, and it gives off a sweet odor attractive to the targeted species”.
A total of 116 municipalities will be targeted by the distribution of vaccine bait this summer, including 68 in Montérégie. Sainte-Julie has been a part of the raised surveillance area since July, as is its neighbors Belœil, McMasterville and Saint-Mathieu-de-Belœil.
Recall that rage is a contagious and fatal disease that can affect all mammals, which means that it can be transmitted from an animal infected with humans.
The population is invited to point out the raccoons, the skuffs and the died or which seem disoriented, injured, abnormally aggressive or even paralyzed by calling for 1 877 346-6763 or by filling out the online form.
In closing, the risk of introducing the rage of the raccoon from the Vermont is currently very high for the municipality of Stanstead and the surroundings in Estrie.
