U.S. announces new guidelines for travellers with dogs
Rules aim to prevent the spread of rabies, and will also apply to service animals
Starting this summer, Canadians travelling south of the border with a dog will have to follow new guidelines as part of a United States effort to prevent rabies from re-entering the country, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regulations announced this week.
Although the CDC says the U.S. eliminated rabies in 2007, it has faced challenges with rabid dogs in recent years.
The new regulations will take effect at the same time that a temporary suspension on importing dogs from countries at high risk of rabies will expire, a rule that will “builds on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The new rules will apply to foreign nationals, as well as U.S. citizens and U.S. residents, and will affect all dogs, including service animals and dogs who left the U.S. and are returning.
Starting on Aug. 1, dogs entering the U.S. will have to be at least six months old and microchipped, with a CDC Dog Import Form online submission receipt. They also have to appear healthy upon arrival, a rule that hasn’t changed from prior guidelines.
The microchip will have to be International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-compatible, and implanted prior to any required rabies vaccination. The number must be on all required forms and accompanying veterinary records.
The CDC Dog Import Form should be completed online two to 10 days before arrival; if travellers need to make any changes to their submission, they can do so by sending a new form and indicating they are making changes to an existing form.
Previously, the Animal Welfare Act required all dogs to be at least two months old to travel into the
U.S., and the CDC required each to have verbal or written documentation verifying they hadn’t visited a high-risk country in the last six months, CDC spokesperson Dave Daigle told the Star in an email.
Asked whether Canadians will face any additional regulations, Daigle recommended they visit the CDC’s website and use its “DogBot” tool to see what documentation they will need.
“Since Canada is a rabies-free country, there are multiple options available to (Canadian travellers),” he said.
Canada is not on the CDC’s long list of countries at high risk of rabies, but visitors should beware that they may be subject to additional rules if they have been to one of the countries on the list.
More than 100 countries are considered high-risk for dog rabies, including states in the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia. Among the high-risk countries listed are Afghanistan, China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), Iran, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines and Syria.
Dogs that have been in a country with a high risk of dog rabies in the six months prior to travelling to the U.S. who do not have documentation of a U.S.-issued rabies vaccine must have:
a valid (non-expired) rabies vaccination that was given at the age of at least three months old.
a complete Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form.
a valid rabies serology titre (unless the dog has a reservation for 28-day quarantine at a CDC-registered animal care facility).
a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility for examination and revaccination.
an international flight that arrives directly at the airport with the CDC-registered animal care facility where the dog has a reservation.