Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) officials have made an announcement that a Lancaster County hunter has tested positive for rabies. The hunter has already been given post-exposure rabies shots after harvesting, and field dressing a deer on Jan. 20, in Valley Township, Chester County. The deer has tested positive for rabies. Of course, this is something that one would not (normally) expect to happen while field dressing a deer.
The hunter contacted PGC about his concerns and felt that the deer was unfit for consumption as he (the hunter) saw the deer standing in a creek “straining and growling” according to a recent press release. The hunter additionally said that he felt that the reason the deer was growling and straining was because there may have been a coyote nearby because of the sounds the deer was making.
Because the hunter had scratches on his hands and had field dressed the deer without wearing gloves, he was advised to contact his doctor about post-exposure rabies shots.
Dr. Walter Cottrell, Game Commission wildlife veterinarian, pointed to the agency’s long-standing recommendations that hunters and trappers avoid harvesting animals that appear sick, and when field dressing any wild animal to wear rubber or latex gloves. This decreases the likelihood that a hunter might contract any disease from the animal.
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