Section 144-251-2 - DefinitionsA.Animal Control: Control of dogs, cats, and domesticated or undomesticated animals in accordance with 7 M.R.S.A. §3948.B.Animal Control Officer (ACO): An agent charged with the control of dogs, cats, and domesticated or undomesticated animals or a person acting in that capacity that is appointed periodically by municipal officers pursuant to 7 M.R.S.A. §3947.C.Animal Damage Control Cooperator (ADC): Also referred to as an ADC agent, a cooperating trapper or hunter certified by the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife and operating as an agent of the Department for purposes of animal damage control.D.Confinement and Observation: Term used to describe the period of time (10 days) that a domesticated dog, cat or ferret is to remain separate and apart from other animals and humans and observed after having bitten or otherwise exposed a human or another domesticated animal. Note that the term "10 day quarantine" is commonly used to describe this activity.E.Confirmed Rabid Animal: An animal that has been confirmed rabid by the Health & Environmental Testing Laboratory using the direct fluorescent antibody test of neural tissue.F.Control: To limit by reasonable means all unnecessary exposure of a suspect rabid animal to humans and other animals.G.Currently Vaccinated: Domesticated animals are considered currently vaccinated for rabies if at least 28 days has elapsed since the initial vaccination and the duration of vaccination has not exceeded the time period recommended for that species based upon the type of vaccine used. If a previously vaccinated animal is overdue for a booster, it should be revaccinated. Immediately after the booster, the animal is considered currently vaccinated and should be placed on a booster schedule depending on the label duration of the vaccine used. The Maine "Certificate of Rabies Vaccination" or a form approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture is proof of immunization.H.Decapitate: To remove the head of an animal using methods recommended by the Department of Agriculture.I.Domesticated Animal: Any of various animals that have been tamed and made fit for a human environment, including but not limited to dogs, cats, ferrets, or livestock.J.Domesticated Ferret: Mustela putorius tura, member of the weasel family. Bred by private and commercial breeders and has been domesticated since 600 AD. Domesticated ferret does not include the black-footed ferret.K.Exposure: Refers to the threat of rabies transmission when the virus is introduced into bite wounds, open cuts in skin, or onto mucous membranes from saliva or other potentially infectious material such as neural tissue.L.Isolation: Term used to describe the period of time (6 months) during which an unvaccinated animal that has been exposed to a rabid or suspect rabid animal should be strictly isolated when the owner is unwilling to have it euthanized. Isolation in this context refers to confinement in an enclosure that precludes direct contact with people or other animals. Note that the term "6 month quarantine" is commonly used to describe this activity.M.Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL): The public health laboratory that is part of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), Department of Health and Human Services.N.Livestock: Horses, cows, sheep, camelids, goats, swine, domesticated deer or any other agricultural mammal.O.Non-exposure: Indirect contact by itself, such as being in the vicinity of an animal, petting or handling an animal, or coming into contact with the blood, urine, or feces of an animal, does not constitute exposure, and therefore does not require post-exposure vaccination.P.Observation: Term used to describe the period of time (45 days) that a vaccinated, domesticated animal is to be observed for signs of rabies after having been exposed to a rabid or suspect rabid animal.Q.Owned Animal: Domesticated animals, as well as animals in petting zoos and circuses, that have a known owner.R.Rabies Management Guidelines: A manual written by the Maine Rabies Work Group to provide information on rabies as a disease, to outline prevention and management of rabies exposure in humans, domesticated animals, and wildlife, and to help municipalities and animal care facilities develop rabies response plans. Pursuant to 5 M.R.S.A. §8056(1)(8), the Third Edition of the Maine Rabies Management Guidelines, 2012 is hereby incorporated by reference into these rules. Copies of the Rabies Management Guidelines are available at cost from the APA Office.S.Stray Animal: Domesticated animals that have no known owner.T.Suspect Rabid Animal: Any mammal, domesticated or undomesticated, which is demonstrating signs consistent with rabies or which has exposed either a human or domesticated animal to rabies.U.Undomesticated Animal: A mammal considered to be wild by nature by the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.V.Unvaccinated Animal: An animal with no previous rabies vaccination; an animal whose first rabies vaccination was given less than 28 days prior to rabies exposure being evaluated; an animal who is not up to date on its rabies vaccination (the time interval from last vaccination to exposure incident has exceeded the amount of time indicated to be effective by the vaccine manufacturer); an animal for which no record of approved vaccination exists; or an animal for which no approved rabies vaccine exists.W.Wild Animal Hybrid: A mammal that is the offspring of a wild animal crossbred to a domesticated animal. This includes a mammal that is represented by its owner to be a wolf hybrid, coyote hybrid, coy dog, or any other kind of wild canid hybrid. Wild animal hybrids are considered wild animals by the National Association of State and Public Health Veterinarians and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and should not be kept as pets.10-144 C.M.R. ch. 251, § 2