09/01/2026
This devastating incident brings many questions into play regarding livestock, petting zoos and vaccines. Here’s what we know…first, we would not have babies who are too young for vaccines, near the public. Young immune systems are incomplete and exposing young animals to environments with unknown pathogens is not, in our opinion, in the best interest of the animal. We also feel strongly that puppies should be kept out of the public, even neighborhood yards, until fully vaccinated.
Second, let’s talk about vaccines in goats. Sadly, the rabies vaccine used for goats is used off-label. The vaccine used for sheep has a good track record of preventing rabies and is being studied, and cattle rabies vaccines are also used, but there is no legal vaccine currently for goats. We vaccinate all of our animals for rabies, myself included.
The last question is regarding insurance. Our insurance requires us to vaccinate all of our animals for rabies because of public contact. I’m not sure what NC insurance requirements are, but rest assured that we do everything in our power to protect our animals AND our friends from rabies and other diseases. Do you have questions about this case? Post them in comments and we’ll do our best to get the answers!
