Background prevalence of tetracycline-like fluorescence in teeth of free ranging red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) and raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Ontario, Canada.

We collected and examined teeth from 3406 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) collected in Ontario, Canada, from 1978 to 1986, prior to large scale rabies vaccine baiting. We found tetracycline-like fluorescence in five (0.2%) of the samples. Also, we observed similar fluorescences in five (0.4%) of 1103 striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) and in six (0.8%) of 744 raccoons (Procyon lotor). The low prevalence of such marks would not appear to invalidate the use of tetracycline as a marking agent in vaccine baiting trials.