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Four baby goats at mobile petting zoo in North Carolina test positive for rabies
Confirmed
RABID BAT FOUND NEAR ZOO RESTAURANT SPARKS URGENT PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING: 'EXTREMELY SERIOUS' North Carolina health officials warned that baby goats from a mobile petting zoo tested positive for rabies and may have had direct contact with people while infectious. (Reuters) During that period, NCDHHS said Farm Adventures held off-site events involving children and elderly individuals across multiple counties.
MARYLAND ROCKED BY THIRD BEAVER ATTACK IN WEEKS AFTER 2 ANIMALS TEST POSITIVE FOR RABIES Young goat handlers await a judge's verdict in a competition on day nine of the Iowa State Fair on August 21, 2026 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Leon Neal/ ) The petting zoo identified the goats as Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno.
DEADLIEST ANIMAL IN EVERY US STATE REVEALED, FROM MOOSE AND BEARS TO DOGS North Carolina health officials said the mobile petting zoo attended off-site events involving children and elderly individuals during the potential rabies exposure period. (REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina) Farm Adventures said one of the animals was ultimately sent for a necropsy after its veterinarian investigated what was happening.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said anyone who had contact with the baby goats at Farm Adventures’ location in Harmony, North Carolina, or at one of its mobile events between July 28 and Thursday should contact local health officials.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) said the infected goats were from Farm Adventures, a mobile petting zoo based in Harmony, North Carolina, that attended off-site events across multiple counties.
In a Facebook statement, Farm Adventures said four of its baby goats had contracted rabies and that the animals had been euthanized to prevent further spread. The baby goats were too young for vaccination and were bitten by a skunk that was found in their separate pen, the petting zoo said.
According to Farm Adventures, the baby goats were housed in a separate pen away from the other animals at the petting zoo. Human rabies infections are extremely rare in the U.S., and no human cases have been reported in North Carolina since 2011, according to NCDHHS.
Anyone who had contact with baby goats from Farm Adventures, either at its Harmony location or at an off-site event between July 28 and Aug. 27, should contact their local health department to determine whether medication is needed to prevent infection, according to NCDHHS.
What's confirmed
- The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said anyone who had contact with the baby goats at Farm Adventures’ location in Harmony, North Carolina, or at one of its mobile events between July 28 and…
- RABID BAT FOUND NEAR ZOO RESTAURANT SPARKS URGENT PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING: 'EXTREMELY SERIOUS' North Carolina health officials warned that baby goats from a mobile petting zoo tested positive for rabies and may have…
- Health professionals may determine whether people who had contact with the baby goats need further examination or precautionary medication, it said.
- In a Facebook statement, Farm Adventures said four of its baby goats had contracted rabies and that the animals had been euthanized to prevent further spread.
- The baby goats were too young for vaccination and were bitten by a skunk that was found in their separate pen, the petting zoo said.
- Skunks are one of the animals most often found with rabies, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- North Carolina hasn’t had a reported human case since 2011, the state health department said.
- Roughly 100,000 Americans a year receive a rabies vaccine following a potential exposure, according to the CDC.
What's still developing
- Without it, rabies is almost always fatal in humans, the state health department said.
- It said it was unaware the goats had been bitten, and that they did not show typical symptoms of the disease.
- After the first goat’s death, the petting zoo sent its body to be tested, it said.
- People can get rabies through pets, wild animals and other humans through a bite, a scratch or even infected saliva, it said.
- The petting zoo, responding to a comment on Facebook, said it’s hoping its customers are unaffected.
- MARYLAND ROCKED BY THIRD BEAVER ATTACK IN WEEKS AFTER 2 ANIMALS TEST POSITIVE FOR RABIES Young goat handlers await a judge's verdict in a competition on day nine of the Iowa State Fair on August 21, 2026 in Des…
- The four goats were too young to receive their vaccinations when a skunk entered their pen, according to Farm Adventures.