With hundreds of animal bites reported each year, the health unit that serves Northumberland County is encouraging people to help stop the problem.
The Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge Health Unit dealt with nearly 600 animal bites last year.
This year, the heath unit is putting out a message “Keep Bites at Bay.”
This is aimed at pet owners and families with young children this summer.
During the warm weather months, the number of animal bites – and potential risk of rabies – increases as more people and pets are outdoors.
Manager of Health Protection Richard Ovcharovich says “We have seen an increase in animal bite incidents in the past couple of years, and most of our investigations continue to involve pets or domestic animals. This is a concerning trend, especially given the possible exposure to rabies.”
“For people not to touch animals they don’t know or that are not theirs,
for parents to be careful with children and not leave children unattended with animals. For animal owners ts critical that they have their dogs especially on a leash, under control at all times and try to avoid them allowing them to run at large unless they’re in a designated dog park area.”
Ovcharovicxh added, ”In 2020,there were 599 animal bites reported in Haliburton County, Northumberland County and the City of Kawartha Lakes.
In the previous year, there were 672 animal bites reported.
Ovcharovich encourages all parties to play their part to keep bites at bay.
“As a parent or caregiver, never leave a young child alone with an animal, even if it’s your pet,” he says. “Children may not know any better and start to rile or incite even friendly animals to act out and attack. The result can be an animal bite or scratch that leads to severe, long-lasting physical and emotional trauma.”
To better reach children, the Health Unit has developed an animal-bites prevention classroom resource and activity that is tied to the school curriculum. It is reaching out to local educators interested in using the resource, and starting this week into June, Public Health Inspectors will begin presenting it virtually to students in classrooms that have expressed interest.
Ovcharovich says pet owners play an equally important role in prevention.
“Owners have the responsibility to make sure their pets are fully vaccinated against rabies. They should also make certain pets are leashed, under control, and discouraged from running free unless they are in a designated dog park,” he says. “Owners should pay extra close attention if children are nearby.”
The Health Unit is also promoting the Yellow Ribbon campaign locally. It’s an international effort to encourage people to use yellow ribbons to show a pet (usually a dog) needs space.
“Tying a yellow ribbon onto a dog’s leash or collar means not to pet the animal, as it needs space for a reason,” Ovcharovich says. “Yellow ribbons don’t always mean the animal is aggressive. It could also indicate the dog needs space because it is nervous, grumpy, in training, or recovering from surgery.”
If a bite does occur,Ovcharovich encourages people to get the pet owner’s contact information. If possible, take a picture of the animal or remember specific features (like markings, collar with tags). This assists the Health Unit in its follow-up investigation to ensure the correct animal is identified.
To better reach children, the Health Unit has developed an animal-bites prevention classroom resource and activity that is tied to the school curriculum.
Public Health Inspectors will begin presenting it virtually to students in classrooms that have expressed interest.
The Health Unit must be notified any time an animal bites or scratches a person. To learn more, you can call the Health Unit at 1-866-888-4577, ext. 5006, or visit www.hkpr.on.ca.
