“Actually the have to kill a dog to test for rabies.”
But they don’t have to kill an animal to learn if it has rabies. Quarantine.
Back in the ‘70s, my ex had to get rabies shots. He tried to rescue a dog by the side of the road, and the dog bit him and ran away.
Doctor said if they could find the dog and quarantine it they could observe whether or not was infected. That would determine if my ex needed the shots. Never found the dog, so he got the shots.
That raid was never about rabies.
The critters were just an excuse to get the jackboots in the door.