MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Minnesota Seeks Customers of Wildlife Company After Questions Arise Over Rabies Testing

Health officials want people who used ASAP Wildlife Services MN during the past year to call the state if they were told a bat or other wild mammal had been submitted for testing

SAINT PAUL, MN (September 10, 2026). Minnesota health officials are taking the unusual step of trying to locate customers of a Twin Cities-area wildlife company after receiving information indicating that animals customers believed had been submitted for rabies testing may not have consistently been tested.

The Minnesota Department of Health issued the public request Wednesday involving ASAP Wildlife Services MN.

The department wants to hear from anyone who used the business between September 1, 2025 and September 9, 2026 and had a bat or other wild mammal supposedly submitted for rabies testing on their behalf.

Those customers are being asked to call MDH at 651-201-5368.

State rabies specialists will determine whether legitimate testing was performed and advise customers whether rabies post-exposure prevention shots may be necessary.

MDH says information provided to the department indicates that ASAP Wildlife Services MN, which officials believe operates in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, has not consistently submitted animals for rabies testing.

The state disclosed an especially concerning example.

According to MDH, at least one customer was told an animal had received a negative rabies result from a laboratory that does not perform animal rabies testing.

The department says the company has not been responsive to state outreach.

That lack of response is why MDH says it is asking customers themselves to contact health officials.

The one-year window is also intentional.

Rabies symptoms can take significant time to develop, so health officials are looking backward 12 months to determine whether people may have unknowingly remained at risk after believing an animal involved in an exposure had tested negative.

Rabies is a fatal viral illness once clinical symptoms develop, making prevention after a possible exposure critically important.

Bats are of particular concern in Minnesota because they can carry rabies and their teeth are sufficiently small that a bite may not be obvious.

A person who has direct physical contact with a bat, or discovers a bat in a room with a sleeping person or unattended child, may need an exposure assessment even when no obvious bite is visible.

When possible, health officials recommend safely capturing the bat so it can be tested rather than releasing or destroying it.

People should never handle bats with bare hands.

Minnesota also has a specific system for legitimate animal rabies testing.

Animals are submitted through the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, while testing is performed at the Minnesota Department of Health Public Health Laboratory.

MDH says only state public-health laboratories or designated university veterinary diagnostic facilities are approved to conduct animal rabies testing.

When a Minnesota animal is tested at an authorized out-of-state laboratory, both positive and negative results are reported to MDH and the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

That reporting structure gives state health officials a way to verify whether a claimed rabies test actually occurred.

The current investigation is intended to reconstruct what happened to animals handled by ASAP Wildlife Services MN and determine whether any customers who believed they were protected by negative test results may require further medical evaluation.

People who had other potentially concerning encounters with wild animals should contact a healthcare provider promptly rather than waiting for symptoms.

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health is also reminding residents to keep dogs, cats and livestock current on rabies vaccinations.

For customers of ASAP Wildlife Services MN, however, the state's message is more immediate.

Anyone who used the company during the identified period and was told that a bat or other wild mammal had been submitted for rabies testing should call 651-201-5368, even if they were previously told the result was negative.

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