Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 51 - PUBLIC HEALTH-SANITARY CODE
Part III - The Control of Rabies and Other Zoonotic Diseases
Chapter 1 - Anti-Rabies Vaccination Requirements for Dogs and Cats
Section III-101 - Definitions [formerly paragraph 3:001]

A. Unless otherwise specifically provided herein, the following words and terms used in this Part of the Sanitary Code and all other Parts which are adopted or may be adopted are defined for the purposes thereof as follows.

Local Health Authority-any parish or municipal health officer, department or other agency charged with the responsibility of preserving the public health.

Owner-any person who keeps in his care or who harbors or has custody of a dog or other animal.

Prairie Dogs-[formerly paragraph 3:009] any burrowing rodents of the genus Cynomys. Prairie dogs can harbor monkeypox. Prairie dogs are also known to be a host for fleas, which carry the causative agent of Plague, the bacteria Yersinia pestis. These fleas have the potential to infect other wild animals, as well as domestic animals and humans. Prairie dogs are not indigenous to Louisiana.

Vaccination-the injection, by a licensed veterinarian, of an animal using anti-rabies vaccine approved by the state health officer.

Wild Animal-any animal species wherein the majority of its members are not maintained by humans for recreational, commercial food production, agricultural, research, or industrial purposes. Other than possibly endangered species, the majority of the members of such a species live primarily in a natural or non-domestic environment. Wolves, wolf hybrids, and feline species other than Felis felis/domestic cat hybrids, in circumstances involving rabies vaccination or rabies exposure, will be regarded as wild animals.

Zoonotic disease-a disease in humans caused by an infectious agent transmitted from animals to humans. Zoonotic diseases include, but are not limited to, anthrax (caused by Bacillus anthracis) and plague (caused by Yersinia pestis).