In wild skunks there is there known problem of long periods during which
the disease can be transmitted, and also of them being a reservoir of
the disease in many areas.  That works against the welfare of the skunk,
especially in comparison to ferrets who have never been known world-wide
for transmitting rabies (though theoretically there is a vanishingly
small chance of a non-vaccinated one doing so).
 
I believe there is still no USDA approved rabies vaccine for use in
skunks.  I'd have to check the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention
and Control to be sure, though.  Nope, none for skunks.
 
If the Health Dept. decides that there is just too much risk (for
instance with bites to the face*) then the animal can be put down
for immediate brain tissue testing.  Also, if the bitten person or
the person's guardian or parent insists then it often will be done,
depending on state policies.
 
With ferrets it was a 10 year haul to get them into the same position
as dogs and cats.
 
First rabies vaccines needed to be tested.  Of those tested one worked
but left the ferrets with handicaps (These ferrets were adopted by one of
the testing vets, BTW, and one lived to an unusually ancient age despite
the damage though the others didn't.), another of the vaccines tested was
effective for only 6 months in ferrets despite being effective for at
least a year in other animals.  For ferrets IMRAB 3 worked the best and
it met USDA criteria for effectiveness, working in something like 97% of
ferrets vaccinated if memory serves for the number.  After more testing
the USDA approved it.
 
That stopped a number of the killings, but certainly not all and there
were even still ones where jilted lovers would make false claims to hurt
the ex by having her or his animals destroyed.
 
Then the studies began to give clear figures for factors such as the risk
of rabies virus shedding in ferrets.  (It turns out that ferrets are
extremely safe.) These tests were done for a range of rabies types.
 
When the CDC was able to produce those studies to the National
Association of State Public Health Veterinarians in November 1997 the
choice was made to include ferrets in the same category as dogs and cats.
 
It was a long haul for ferret people making sure that the work got done
and helping get up funds for it, all the while NOT knowing if or how much
the results would be useful.  It was obvious that having a vaccine simply
made sense, and it seemed from the public health records that the rest
would also, but the only way to know was to be willing to have that work
done no matter what the results were.  BTW, it was not juts ferret people
who worked hard to achieve having a vaccine and better protection; one
farm (MF) also did such constructive work, and Dr. Charles Rupprecht
worked hard to help ferrets as did many others..  Thanks where thanks
are due...
 
The results were so good for ferrets that Dr. Charles Rupprecht of the
CDC even offered ferret-friendly testimony to the California F&G which
had some internal politics going on at the time with some wanting to
ignore the work as much as possible.
 
Here are two places for information:
http://www.avma.org/pubhlth/rabcont.asp
The Compendium of Animal Rabies Control
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/Ques&Ans/q&a.htm
Easy to read rabies Q&A
 
* The closer to the brain a bite happens the less time there is before
the disease spreads up the nerves to the brain.  It then reproduces in
the brain and travels down other nerves to distant sites such as the
salivary glands.  Infected ferrets usually die before this occurs but
not all animals do and those animals can become disease reservoirs.
Some well known ones are bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes, but the range
is actually broader and can vary some.  (Of course, MOST animals who are
not behaving like humans think they should behave do NOT have rabies.)
 
See also:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no9/02-0608.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no9/02-0608-G1.htm
http://www.aspenskunk.org/faqs.htm   (I only skimmed this but it seems
quite accurate.)
 
I wish I had more encouraging short term news but in the case where
the health authorities or the bitten individual are dealing with any
possibility of a disease that has zoonotic potential, especially one
as frightening as rabies -- even when the chances that the animal has
the disease are about nil -- the animal's family really has pretty much
no recourse.  Legal challenges for unvaccinated animals tend to fail.
The only routes to changing that are A.  Having a USDA approved rabies
vaccine of ruse in skunks, and then B.  establishing the maximum possible
length of the rabies virus shedding time to calculate a safe quarantine
period for the species.  It's a long haul.  but the ferret community
managed it, so the skunk community also can.
 
This is such a sad way to learn about this topic.  I am sorry for the
loss of the little one.
[Posted in FML issue 4802]