(a) Incidence of rabies.-- Each year several hundred cases of rabies in animals are reported in this Commonwealth. The animals include wild animals, livestock and domestic pets. Human exposure can occur through contact with rabid animals.

(b) Impact of rabies epidemic.--The socioeconomic impact of rabies in animals and humans is significant. Infection by the rabies virus is almost always fatal. The protocol surrounding a single suspected rabid animal requires the expenditure of both monetary and human resources by the department, and the human postexposure prophylaxis is expensive.