Since the appearance of rabies in red fox populations near the Greek ? Skopje borders the October of 2011, the first incident on a red fox in northern Greece took place at 19th of October 2012 , a total of 26 new incidents were verified in Greece and rabies has been expanding towards the south of the country having reached already central Greece in less than 9 months.
Due to the public health hazard, an epizootic surveillance and prevention program has been approved by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food in order to control the spread of the disease in the country. Hellenic Hunters Confederation (HHC) has been since the beginning one of the main collaborators in the process of the epizootic surveillance program.
The basic aim of the program is to conduct systematic collection of samples (heads from dead wild and domestic animals possibly infected with rabbies) and specifically from red fox because the species constitutes the dominant reservoir of the virus in wildlife. Hellenic Hunters Confederation has actively enganged in the program in the following ways:
– Participation with representatives in all the committees about rabies, either scientific or coordinative were in many cases other participants praised the organization, the speed and effectiveness of hunting organizations.
– Informing members of hunting organizations
– Announcements and informative articles
– Since the beginning of the program educational and informative seminars are organized
Country: Greece
Starting date: 2012
Species: Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes)
Species characteristics: Huntable species, Abundant species
Type of actions: Management of habitats and wildlife, Research and data collection, Communication, Policy work, Enforcement
Leading partners: 1. The official Veterinary Authorities and specifically the Department of Animal disease, Division Animal Health, General Directorate of Veterinary Ministry of Rural Development and Food (MRDF).2. The Directorate of Aesthetic Forests - Parks and Hunting of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate3. Hellenic Hunters Confederation
