PROSPECT — The board of directors for the Big Butler Fair and Agricultural Association has reversed a decision from last month, and will once again require rabies vaccinations and certificates of veterinary inspection for most livestock exhibits at the fair.

The decision comes after the board’s vote in February to remove the vaccination and CVI requirements came under fire from some veterinarians and fair board members. The critics, which included board member Jill Beidl and Dr. Erin Moore, a veterinary medical field officer for the state Department of Agriculture, said easing the requirements presented a risk to both animals and human visitors to the fair.

Moore said that rabies is a serious problem in Pennsylvania because it is often transmitted through raccoons and cats, and can incubate within livestock for anywhere from 10 days to six months before they become clinically rabid.

Board secretary Harold Dunn said the board voted “by a significant margin” in February to ease the requirements, noting that state officials had rolled back their health safety standards on most livestock exhibits to recommend, but not require, rabies shots and CVIs.

In an e-mail statement released Wednesday and signed by Dunn and fair board solicitor Tom King, the board announced that it would now “require livestock exhibitors to provide a CVI and require rabies vaccination for all animal species which are identified by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.”

The state guidelines do not recommend or require rabies vaccinations for goats because there is currently no proven inoculation for the animals.

The board formalized the revisions at a meeting Tuesday, according to the release, which also defends the board’s initial decision as a move made to “reduce costs of exhibitors.”

Dunn had previously declined to speak on the record about why the board had decided to roll back the vaccination requirements.

“The Board reiterates its efforts to provide a safe, fun, wholesome educational exhibition for fair patrons and exhibitors while anticipating a successful 2017 fair,” the release states.

The fair runs from June 30 to July 8 at the Big Butler Fairgrounds.