Since rabies in this country is primarily a disease of wildlife, an important element of rabies prevention is avoiding wild animals. Many bites and scratches that necessitate postexposure therapy occur when people try to feed or handle a wild animal. Such activities should be discouraged. Other exposures occur when wild animals are kept as pets. It is illegal to keep skunks, raccoons, coyotes, foxes, or bats as pets in Washington.
Bats are the animal most likely to be rabid in Washington.
Therefore, avoiding bats is essential to reducing the risk of rabies in humans. Bats should not be picked up or otherwise handled. However, bats play an important role in our ecosystem, and it is neither practical nor desirable to try to eliminate bats from the environment. Rather, effort should be directed at altering the circumstances in which people are exposed to bats. People commonly encounter bats in their houses.