United States: Starting in August, new regulations will necessitate microchipping and pre-travel forms for dogs entering the country. This measure, enforced by the CDC, aims to combat diseases such as rabies.
More about the announcement
Effective August 1, dogs entering the US must arrive in pristine condition, meaning they must be microchipped and accompanied by a filled-out “CDC Dog Import Form” submitted online two to ten days before arrival.
CNN Health reports suggest that these regulations might extend to other household members, including service dogs already residing in the US or those returning from abroad.
Current “CDC Dog Import” permits will expire by August 31.
Additional requirements may be imposed based on the dog’s travel history or vaccination status in the past six months. The CDC website provides travel checklists for dogs vaccinated in the US and those vaccinated in high-risk countries.
According to the CDC, “For dogs arriving from countries with a high risk of dog rabies, they must be protected against rabies,” CNN Health reported.
According to a statement from the agency’s website, “If your dog’s rabies vaccination expires before you get your dog a booster vaccine, your dog must have another titer drawn at least 30 days after booster vaccination to be eligible for importation. CDC recommends you always keep your dog’s rabies vaccination current.”
What else did the CDC announce?
The CDC stated, “CDC encourages people traveling with their dogs to use CDC’s new personalized question-and-answer tool, ‘DogBot,’ to finalize what rules would be applied to their dogs, mainly on the basis of their dates of travel.
The announcement added further, “People should plan in advance for future travel to ensure requirements for dog importations will be met at the time their dogs will enter the United States.”
Jennifer Skiff, director of international at the animal advocacy group Animal Wellness Action, who also called for the new rules to overreach, stated, “Rabies vaccinations, health certificates, and of course, microchips make sense.”
She said, “But the CDC is mandating serology titers,” and, “One of many problems with that, other than being an excessive and costly requirement, is that the agency is requiring they be done in a CDC-approved laboratory, and not all countries have CDC-approved laboratories.”