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]