Rid Rahway of Rabies -- Distribute Oral Vaccines to Wildlife

The Issue

With the recent news of a confirmed case of rabies in Rahway, the people of Rahway demand something be done to protect its people.

Wildlife rabies is endemic in the US, while other developed countries— like the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and even parts of Africa— are rabies-free. Our own Hawaii is rabies-free. But the contiguous United States is rampant with rabies, which is virtually 100% fatal (World Health Organization), and people continue to die. We must rid the US of rabies. Let’s start with Rahway.

The confirmed case of rabies was in a cat on Esterbook Ave. Cats rarely get rabies, so it is likely this cat was given rabies from wildlife. Esterbook is known to be rife with raccoons. All of the cats in Rahway should be trapped and vaccinated by animal control/trained officials, but to curtail the spread of rabies, we must focus on raccoons and other wildlife such as skunks, foxes, and bats. Rahway must distribute oral vaccines in wooded areas by using bait stations, tossing by hand, or deploying helicopters, as Staten Island did in 2023 by partnering with the Health Department and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

If Rahway does not do this immediately, the rabies will spread, more people will be affected, and people will die. People should be urged to keep their pets indoors and warn children of wildlife, but the government is the one who must take the necessary steps to eradicate rabies. Take action now.