(VIDEO) North Carolina Health Officials Urge Farm Adventures Visitors to Call After Baby Goats Had Rabies

HARMONY, N.C. — Health officials in North Carolina are asking anyone who touched baby goats from a mobile petting zoo to contact their local health department after laboratory tests confirmed rabies in several of the animals.

The goats belonged to Farm Adventures, based in Iredell County. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said people may have been exposed at the farm's Harmony site or at off-site events between July 28 and Aug. 27. Three kids tested positive at the State Laboratory of Public Health. A fourth was not tested but is assumed to have been infected. All four were euthanized.

Officials said there is no wide public threat. "There is not a broad risk to the public — only those who attended events at the mobile petting zoo and were in close contact with the goats are at risk," the department said.

The animals were most likely infected by a skunk that entered their pen in late July. State health and agriculture agencies were notified Aug. 27. Testing results came back Aug. 28. Investigators later concluded that no other animals on the farm pose a rabies risk to people.

Baby goats are often bottle-fed, held and cuddled, which raises the chance of saliva contact. "Because baby goats are frequently bottle-fed, handled closely, or cuddled, public health officials are working proactively to ensure anyone who had direct contact with the affected animals is evaluated," the state health department said.

The zoo took the animals to events that included children and older adults. Known sites include Jurney's Assisted Living in Statesville on July 28; a private event in Mecklenburg County on July 30; the Community Connections Back-to-School Bash at Breeden Amphitheater in Lexington on Aug. 1; a private event near Boone in Watauga County on Aug. 8; a private event on Miller Mills Road in Hickory, Burke County, on Aug. 9; the Masonic Picnic in Mocksville; and additional private gatherings in Iredell and Durham counties later in August. Organizers are being notified as lists are completed.

Mecklenburg County Health Director Kimberly Scott said residents should not wait to feel sick. "Residents should not wait for symptoms before calling," she said. "What's important is that we don't wait for the onset of symptoms when it is more difficult to treat and often most fatal."

Scott told reporters that county teams are still compiling how many people may have been reached and that hospitals appear to have enough postexposure prophylaxis on hand, with plans to obtain more if needed.

Farm Adventures identified the goats as Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno. In a social media post the owners wrote that their "4 precious baby goats have been euthanized to prevent further spread" and that staff would monitor remaining animals under official guidance. The kids had been kept apart because they were too young to vaccinate.

Owner Misty Love told CNN she is cooperating. "I care about my community, and I care about my customers," she said. "If my customers that saw my animals have questions, I'm going to be there for them."

Love said a wild skunk was found in the enclosure on July 29 and was shot and burned. She said the goats did not appear bitten and showed no signs of illness at first. One died Aug. 19. Another became sick the next day and was euthanized. A necropsy confirmed infection. A farm post also said that during removal of the skunk, "the skunk was able to bite the goats," and that owners had "no clue" at the time.

North Carolina has not reported a human rabies case since 2011. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fewer than 10 human deaths are reported in a typical year. The virus spreads mainly through saliva, usually from a bite, though scratches or contact with mucous membranes can also transmit it. Incubation can last weeks to months. Once symptoms appear — often flu-like illness, then neurological decline — the disease is almost always fatal. Treatment given before symptoms, known as postexposure prophylaxis, is highly effective.

Livestock present a lower risk than wild carnivores or bats, officials said, but close handling changes the calculation. Skunks, raccoons, bats and foxes account for most animal rabies in the state. In 2025, about 6 percent of more than 4,000 animals submitted for testing were positive.

County health departments have opened extra phone lines. Davidson County directed Lexington event-goers to a call center. Rowan County asked anyone who touched, held or fed the kids to call even if no event has been confirmed inside that county. Catawba County noted the Hickory-area date and asked residents who may have crossed the county line to check in.

The investigation remains open. Officials are matching booking calendars with attendance lists and advising people to call their health department before walking into an emergency room, so staff can assess risk and direct them if shots are needed.

For families who stood in line at a back-to-school bash or an assisted-living visit, the message is narrow and urgent: if you handled those four goats in that one-month window, pick up the phone. Rabies is rare. Waiting for a fever is not the plan.