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MONTREAL — Teams of workers will be spreading sweet-smelling baits containing a rabies vaccine through Montreal’s parks in the coming weeks, as the province battles the biggest outbreak of raccoon rabies in its history.
Marianne Gagnier, a biologist with the province’s Environment Department, says Montreal is the final stop of a vaccine blitz that has seen more than 800,000 vaccine baits distributed in more than 110 communities throughout the Estrie, Montérégie and Centre-du-Québec regions to the south and east of the city.
“The goal of this vaccination is to immunize raccoons against rabies, but it’s ultimately to protect human health,” she said Wednesday in a phone interview.
The Montreal-area operation is targeting nine parks, including Mount Royal, where hungry raccoons are known to approach humans.
The baits will be spread by hand, and each one looks like a small piece of green ravioli in a packet.
They’ll be placed in areas where raccoons, skunks and foxes are likely to be found, including by the edge of lakes and streams and along paths they’re known to take.
The province has recorded 171 raccoon rabies cases since the beginning of the year, including two cases in cats.
There have also been seven cases of bat rabies, one of which was detected in Montreal in late July.
Gagnier said the raccoon rabies outbreak began in 2024 and is the biggest in the province’s history.
“We aren’t yet in a position to state that we have the situation under control and that the spread of the outbreak is contained,” she said.
She said there’s a good chance rabies could still spread though Montreal’s South Shore, but it’s not clear if it will reach the city itself. Montreal is an island, and while the St. Lawrence River provides a “certain protection,” there are railway tracks and even bicycle paths that cross it, she said.
In addition to vaccination campaigns, the province has also imposed a ban on transporting rabies-prone species of wild animals in several regions, though not yet in Montreal.
Gagnier notes that rabies is fatal in humans once symptoms appear. However, it’s also easily avoidable, she says. All a person has to do is avoid touching a wild animal — no matter how cute or vulnerable it looks.
“We keep our distance, we let nature take its course, we don’t intervene,” she said. “That’s the best way to protect ourselves.”
She said people should also ensure their pets are vaccinated and should seek immediate medical attention if there’s any chance they were exposed, because rabies is treatable before symptoms develop.
People are being asked to avoid handling the baits, and should wear gloves or use a shovel if they are forced to move one.
They should also wash their hands after touching one of the baits.
Gagnier says that even if the vaccination operation is successful, the province will likely be fighting the outbreak for several years. Raccoons reproduce quickly, meaning next year will bring a new cohort of babies needing to be protected, she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2026.
Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
