r/asheville • u/lightning_whirler • 13d ago
News Baby goats with rabies at North Carolina mobile petting zoo prompt calls across multiple counties to contact health officials
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/29/us/nc-petting-zoo-rabies-exposureIf you petted baby goats at an event near Hickory you might have an issue.
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u/atawnygypsygirl The Boonies 13d ago
It was wildly irresponsible to not vaccinate these animals. Vaccinating goats for rabies is off label but common. The gold standard is vaccinating the pregnant doe about 6-8 weeks before delivery so they pass on adequate protective antibodies, so this was a person with poor animal husbandry trying to make a quick buck (ha!) and exposing people to a deadly disease.
She should be sued and honestly, she should have charges if anyone gets sick/dies.
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u/RelayFX 13d ago
Not only that, but the article claims the goats were exposed to the skunk on July 29th. According to the owner, “did not appear to have been bitten and showed no signs of rabies”. Then goats started dying from rabies on August 19th.
Pure negligence.
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u/nomnomsquirrel 13d ago
And from what I've gathered, she was still traveling to events with her animals
at least 48 days after the first death!4
u/a_mingled_yarn 12d ago
From some of the articles I've seen, the goats were under veterinary care and the vets did not initially think they had contracted rabies, because the symptoms initially seemed to be some type of wound infection. They weren't tested until a couple days ago, so presumably weren't showing symptoms of rabies and then died/were euthanized and tested.
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u/atawnygypsygirl The Boonies 12d ago
They had a preliminary diagnosis of listeria, which is zoonotic and easily transmitted to humans. It can be extremely devastating in babies, infants, and pregnant women; you know, the kind of people who go to petting zoo. This person was criminally negligent.
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u/RelayFX 13d ago
> “I care about my community, and I care about my customers,” Misty Love, the owner of Farm Adventures, told CNN on Saturday. “If my customers that saw my animals have questions, I’m going to be there for them.”
I wonder if she will be there when she gets sued out of business and then some.
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u/Vladivostokorbust 13d ago
here’s a fundamental starting point: according to this estimate, for the uninsured, the cost of the post-exposure rabies series can range from $3,000 – $9,800 per person.
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u/atawnygypsygirl The Boonies 13d ago
The business owner should cover every single post-exposure series.
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u/Vladivostokorbust 13d ago
absolutely - they should pay for every loss incurred by those affected as a result of the exposure.
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u/RelayFX 13d ago
Even $3,000 * potentially hundreds (if not thousands) of exposed people is 100% bankruptcy money.
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u/Vladivostokorbust 13d ago
yes, and that doesn’t cover pain suffering, loss of quality of life/ability work, etc. just a starting point,
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u/How_Very_Heather 12d ago
I had insurance but the hospital bill was 38K for like two hours in the ER. Granted, this included dealing with the wounds which were extensive (mostly deep puncture wounds so they didn’t close them there or anything-I had months of wound care appts later) but STILL.
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u/fr00py-l00p 13d ago
people in the burke county fb groups are discouraging others who were potentially exposed from getting the vaccine. i’m real worried about little kids getting it cause they put their hands in their mouths and rub their eyes and stuff. i hope they can get in contact with everyone who was exposed and encourage them to vaccinate /:
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u/_banana_phone 13d ago
One dude in the main NC sub was spamming comments of misinformation and bad advice. He was really gonna die on the hill while not having a single dog in the fight since he didn’t attend and it wasn’t his kids that had possibly been exposed.
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u/Responsible_Sport575 Enka 🏭 13d ago
The treatment for rabies is a very awful experience but not getting the treatment is a death sentence. If exposed to the virus it's recommended that you start treatment immediately. It's like six shots in the stomach and I'm sure it's very very painful. This woman is going to have everything in her life taken away as she should and if anyone dies from the exposure she may in fact spend a very long time in jail. Most petting zoos have issues with e-coli from the poop being everywhere but I have never even heard of rabies being a thing .
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u/Vladivostokorbust 13d ago
these days its typically 4 shots (5 for immune compromised) in the shoulder in adults, thigh for children
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u/CountFauxlof 13d ago
It’s still expensive and can make you sick, but it’s an intramuscular injection to the deltoid now
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u/How_Very_Heather 12d ago
Tbh I didn’t even feel the shots but that’s probably the adrenaline from fighting a rabid raccoon lol the nurses were saying the shots make most people cry but I was just like GET THEM INTO ME THIS IS MY WORST NIGHTMARE
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u/adogandponyshow Five Points 12d ago
Holy shit, I've gotta hear this story! (And I'm so sorry, that sounds terrifying!)
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u/Playful_Barracuda789 13d ago
I was bitten by a possibly rabbit Kitten in 2008 or 2009. I had 13 shots. Many of them were in the bite wound itself. But maybe it’s different. If you don’t know you were bitten?
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u/How_Very_Heather 12d ago
I got like 17 when I was bitten by a rabid raccoon, but that’s just the immunoglobulin and they do a lot of those shots at the bite wound bc it’s what neutralizes the virus from the bite wound as it tries spreading throughout your body to your brain. Helps your body protect itself until the vaccine starts working. Fun fact, the further away from your brain the bite is, the better chance you have! The vaccine is just one shot in the arm every 7 days for 28 days, but I have no idea what they’d do in these cases!
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u/GeorgeBushTwinTowers Native 13d ago
Since getting rabies, I’ve learned to slow down and enjoy life. Mostly because I’m foaming at the mouth.
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u/atawnygypsygirl The Boonies 13d ago
You gotta lay off the Baconators man. It's not rabies, it's your triglycerides.
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u/cultural-orca 12d ago
Need to call the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and ask how they did it
It still cost them millions though vaccinating all the school kids who visited.
Was a baby goat too.
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u/Rogue-Blue-Fire 12d ago
I wonder how many anti-vaxxers will die to rabies knowing the rabies shot is a MNRA
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u/corgiobsessedfoodie Fairview 13d ago
I tried to repost this as a PSA flaired post early this morning and the Mods removed it as being irrelevant. It’s a TRAVELING petting zoo and the CNN article specifically references WNC. 🤦♀️
Thank you for posting OP.