Twenty-four raccoons and six coyotes were confiscated from Weber's Eastwood Animal Clinic in Birmingham and his home in Irondale.
The animals were reportedly housed in various cages that indicated long-term captivity, and evidence suggested that some of the animals were imported from Louisiana in a violation of state and federal law.
Both coyotes and raccoons are known carriers of rabies, and there is no approved rabies vaccine for raccoons and coyotes.
After seizing the animals, they killed all 30 of them and their brains are being tested for rabies by the United States Department of Agriculture.
"Rabies is a very serious public health threat that is always fatal if proper medical treatment is not delivered soon after exposure,” said Dr. Dee W. Jones, State Public Health Veterinarian with the Alabama Department of Public Health. “Anyone who suspects they might have been exposed to a rabid animal should consult their doctor or county health department immediately."
Maybe these animals had been found as babies and raised with people and he knew he couldn't release them into the wild but figured if they were contained at his house, they could at least be spared death and not a risk to the general public. However, any time wildlife officials find people with wild animals as pets, they take the animals and kill them.
(abc3340 - Jul 27, 2016)
