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RABIES LAWS– Mississippi and South Carolina

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • Based on several questions I've recently received, it appears that dog owners in South Carolina and Mississippi are under the mistaken impression that their animals are required to have annual rabies vaccinations. Links to the respective laws are below.

    MISSISSIPPI Rabies Laws http://www.mbah.state.ms.us/disease_programs/rabies/ms_rabies_laws.htm

    Dogs and Cats**
    All dogs and cats shall be vaccinated against rabies at three months of age, revaccinated one year later and every three years thereafter, using a rabies vaccine approved as providing a 3-year immunity.

    SOUTH CAROLINA Rabies Control Title 47 http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t47c005.htm

    SECTION 47-5-60. Inoculation of pets; certificates and tags.

    A pet owner must have his pet inoculated against rabies at a frequency to provide continuous protection of the pet from rabies using a vaccine approved by the department and licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture. Evidence of rabies inoculation is a certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian.

Suggested Topics

  • Rabies Vaccine reaction

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
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    eeeefarmE
    There are different types of rabies vaccine. The ones most likely to cause a reaction have thimerosal in them. A friend's dog (not a Basenji) had an anaphylactic reaction to a rabies shot, and she would have lost him had the vet not still been present and able to counter it with epinephrine. In the future they made sure the shots he got did not have thimerosal. Usually reactions aren't quite so dramatic, but something to keep in mind. I also used blood titers to avoid unnecessary vaccinations with my dogs. More expensive, but worth it!
  • MISSOURI PASSES Rabies Waiver Bill

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
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    Kris_ChristineK
    CORRECTION MISSOURI: The medical exemption clause in SB 566 was removed from the version of the bill which passed on 5/17/12. The "Truly Agreed To and Finally Passed" version of SB 566 which did pass http://www.senate.mo.gov/12info/pdf-bill/tat/SB566.pdf was not posted on the Legislature's website until a week after passage, leading to the incorrect conclusion that the "Perfected" bill text appearing on the Legislature's bill status including waivers http://www.senate.mo.gov/12info/pdf-bill/perf/SB566.pdf had passed. This version of the bill including rabies waivers did not, in fact, pass. According to the Missouri Department of Agriculture's Legislative Liason, Rachel Mobley, the final version of SB 566 stripped the language which required all dogs and cats to be vaccinated against rabies. Because there is no statutory requirement for rabies vaccination in the final bill or in state law, there was no need for a medical exemption clause in SB 566. Rabies vaccination requirements are determined at the county level.
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    Kris_ChristineK
    @lisastewart: Surprised it was not already in there as Senator Brown is a Veterinarian. Yes, so am I. Please make sure you contact him & ask that he put the clause in the bill!
  • MINNESOTA Rabies Vax Survey

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
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    Kris_ChristineK
    MINNESOTA Board of Veterinary Medicine issues Rabies Vaccination Guidance Document 3/1/12 http://www.vetmed.state.mn.us/portals/22/RabiesVaccinationGuidanceDocument.pdf **"rabies vaccination certificate should always comply with Minnesota Rule 1705.1146, including displaying the date of vaccination and the rabies vaccine labeled duration of immunity, even if the veterinarian recommends more frequent rabies vaccination" A major victory for Minnesota pet owners thanks to Jane Anderson & Chris Addington, who, with assistance from The Rabies Challenge Fund, have prompted the Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine to publish a rabies vaccination guidance document in order to get veterinarians to follow the recommendations of the CDC's Rabies Compendium, to issue rabies certificates accurately reflecting the duration of immunity on the vaccine label, to obtain documented informed consent if administering rabies vaccines off-label, and to have "credible, scientifically-based information….in the possession of the veterinarian and available for review" if the veterinarian chooses to adopt a booster protocol other than that recommended in the Compendium. The Rabies Vaccination Survey Report can be viewed here: http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/images/stories/pdfs/rabies_vaccination_committee_survey_results.pdf**
  • Wichita Rabies Law Article 11/15/08

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
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    Kris_ChristineK
    Well, your precious ones only have to have a rabies booster once every 3 years! Please tell all your friends in Wichita about the ordinance change – the newspaper buried the announcement in other animal-related information, I'm sure many pet owners in the city don't have a clue that they no longer have to booster every year. Kris
  • Reaction on Rabies Shot!

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
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    ComicDom1C
    I guess we have been lucky. Roo got his Rabies shot about 3 weeks ago and was fine. We also used Advantix on him with no issues. With the flooding we have had here recently, the Mosquitos have been terrible. We even stopped walking in the park because they are so bad and will swarm on Roo. Jason