Are you a veterinarian reporting a
potential rabid animal?
Click here to report an
animal that you suspect may have rabies, whether it bit
anyone or not.
About Animal Bite Reporting
A report of a bite from an animal does not mean that the
animal is deemed dangerous. Animals may bite while
playful, or the bite may be entirely provoked. Residents
that believe an animal to be dangerous must file a
separate report with their local
animal control agency.
The current location of the biting animal is one
of the most important parts of the report.
This information is used to assess the biting animal for
the risk of transmitting rabies. The risk of
rabies transmission from the bite can be safely ruled
out if the biting animal remains free of symptoms of
rabies during the post-bite quarantine/observation
period (10 days if the biting animal is a dog or cat),
or if it tests negative for rabies. The vast majority of
biting pets are quarantined and observed at home.
Rabies testing by Public Health is performed on wild
biting mammals and ill or deceased domestic animals held
at animal shelters or veterinary practices, and is
provided at no cost.
Which bites need to be reported?
- All mammal bites to
people, EXCEPT bites from small rodents
(rats, mice, gophers), and rabbits.
Bites from non-mammals like reptiles and
birds are not reportable.
- All
wild mammal bites to domestic
mammals. Example: raccoon bite
to a dog.
Bites from wild small rodents, rabbits,
birds, and reptiles to domestic mammals
are NOT reportable.
- All close encounters with
bats. Bat bites are tiny, can
heal very quickly and can be too small
to find later.
Bats are the primary reservoir for
rabies in Los Angeles County.
- Examples of
higher-risk encounters
with bats (list is not
all-inclusive):
- Bat
known to
have
directly
bitten a
person
or
domestic
animal,
even if
it does
not
bleed.
-
Scratch
from
tooth of
bat.
- Bat
found
near
children,
pets,
non-verbal
people
or
others
where a
bite
cannot
be ruled
out.
- Bat
found
indoors
in a
home or
facility
where
people
may be
sleeping,
in which
it may
have had
any
unsupervised
access
to
sleeping
people
before
it was
found.
How Do I Report Bites?
-
By fax. Download the appropriate form and fax
or email in
to the number on the form.
Click here for
reporting
forms. Bite report forms are at the
top of the list.
-
Online Portal.
Portal only
for human medical facilities and the
public.
-
Please provide
information about the
animals' current
location in the comments
at the end.
-
You may be prompted by your computer to accept a security alert.
Click Yes to proceed. This process may take several minutes.
-
Animal Bite Reporting Portal (public/medical submission).
This is a secure website.
- To report bites in
Pasadena,
call the Pasadena Humane Society at:
626-792-7151.
To report bites in
Long Beach,
call Long Beach Animal Control at:
562-570-7387.
To report bites in
Vernon, call
the city Vernon and ask to speak to the
Health Department: 323-583-8811
If you have any questions,
please contact us at
vet@ph.lacounty.gov or (213)
288-7060
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Who has to report? All people with knowledge
of the bite. Locally most reports come from animal
control agencies, physicians, and veterinarians, but
anyone may report a bite.
What Happens When I Report A Bite?
FAQ for
owners of pets under a bite quarantine.
If the animal is located, it is evaluated for rabies
either by a quarantine and observation period, or by
testing its body after death. Most reported
bites are inflicted by dogs and cats. Quarantine
periods for dogs and cats are a minimum of 10 days.
Biting livestock are quarantined for 30 days. The vast
majority of quarantines are performed in the biting
animal's home.
Biting wild animals of high-rabies-risk species (bat,
skunk, fox, raccoon, coyote) are only tested, not
quarantined. Wildlife of very low risk for rabies are
evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Animals that have been impounded by an animal control
agency must complete their quarantine period in a
shelter. Many owned biting animals complete their
quarantine in their own home, if they can be kept
securely on site. Veterinary Public Health is not
an animal control agency and does not impound animals.
However, this program may work in conjunction with
animal control agencies when needed.
Last updated:
March 19, 2026
