To those who suggest discontinuing rabies vaccines, or spreading them out more, some states do have laws requiring annual vaccinations. Florida is one of them. Of course, failure to vaccinate annually only becomes a problem if there is a bite incident. If a bite incident is reported, the animal is required to be quarantined only if the rabies vaccination is current. If it is not current, it is decided on a case-by-case basis, based on the circumstances. Some local governments may even automically require that unvaccinated animals be killed and tested. The county I live in has a high incidence of animal rabies cases. (As an aside......this law came to be a number of years ago because, at the time, it was left to local health departments in Florida to set policy for ferret bite incidents. Some required an automatic kill and test if a ferret bit someone, no matter whether the ferret was vaccinated or not. After a young lady's ferret was "tested" after biting someone, a group of people to set out to change the law. The law was successfully changed to require a quarantine in bite incidents if the ferret has a current vaccination, along with dogs and cats. This was a huge triumph for Florida ferret owners!) To carry it even further, it becomes not only a legal issue, but an ethical one as well if you are a rescue, and are adopting out animals. I would not adopt out a ferret who has not been vet checked and is up-to-date on all of its vaccinations. Rescues need to set an example, and educate the public. I'm sure that all vets know to report an unusual number of reactions, and they are hopefully doing so. That is what my vet has done. Katharine Florida [Posted in FML 6359]