Rabies Control to Get New Building
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JACKSON, Tenn. — Madison County commissioners approved funding this week that will pay for a new building for rabies control. “The facility we have was built about 45 years ago,” Madison County Mayor Jimmy Harris said. County commissioners approved $45,000 in funding that will pay for the new facility. The addition will give workers a private place to put animals down, something Harris says the law mandates. “One of the requirements is to have a separate, private euthanasia room,” Harris said. “We have not had the ability to have that in the facility.” Madison County residents have mixed opinions about the addition. “It’s a possibility it could flow either way,” Alberta Brooks said, of Jackson. “You know you gotta do something with the animals.” Some have concerns about the cost. “That seems a little much to me. I think they could build something a little cheaper, quite a bit cheaper,” Ellis Warren said, of Madison County. Harris says the new facility will also give workers an area to process and assess the animals that come in. “It will just help our employees over there have a better operation in the sense it will be a little more organized,” Harris said. Harris says rabies control handles about 2,500 animals a year. He estimates between 75 percent and 80 percent of those animals are adopted. Statistics show rabies control euthanized almost 500 animals last year. County leaders expect construction to begin within the next month.
