Immediate Release
February 17, 2009
Little Rock --The Arkansas Department of Health is offering further clarification of Act 159 for Arkansas citizens concerned about vaccination of their dogs and cats. Act 159, an act to modernize Arkansas’s rabies control and to empower the State Board of Health to establish reasonable vaccination requirements against rabies, was signed by Governor Beebe on February 16th. This act updates the Rabies Control Act removing extensive obsolete sections. The main change of interest to citizens is the interval for rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats. The old act required rabies vaccines to be given yearly. The new act requires “All dogs and cats shall be vaccinated against rabies annually or as required by the State Board of Health.” The Administrative Procedures Act for changing rules and regulations established by the State Board of Health will take some time. Until these rules and regulations are changed, the requirement will remain for dogs and cats to receive their rabies vaccinations annually.
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