Dog Import Regulations: New CDC Rules and Requirements

CDC Provides More Context for New Rules

We’ve previously reported on the new CDC rules that tightened restrictions on documentation for dog imports to the US and added a requirement to provide a 6 month history of where imported dogs have been, which effectively increased the minimum import age to 6 months. Some additional context for the new rules has come to light and have been highlighted by CBC news, namely that the waiting period for dog imports is due to dogs being imported to Canada and then to the US from countries that are at a high risk for rabies. This makes sense given that the incubation period for rabies generally does not exceed 4 months. As a result of US changes to import rules, Canada also has identified areas for improvement in its dog import rules.

What This Means

Functionally, I’m not sure there is much of a change from adding this additional context. Canada is being given some additional grace around dog imports to the US but the 6 month rule which is the largest rule change is still in effect. My original opinion on the matter was that these new rules are solving a problem that doesn’t exist since we have a negligible rabies rate in the US but tightening restrictions on imports doesn’t seem like a bad thing if we certain entities are trying to circumnavigate existing import rules by going through Canada.

The article mentions that is costs approximately $270,000 to investigate and resolve suspected cases of rabies from dog imports which can certainly add up but seems like a small amount compared to changing the entire rulebook.

One last final item for thought – the article mentions that international animal rescues and those participating in the illegal dog trade have taken advantage if the lax dog import rules to get dogs to the US. I generally don’t think increasing red tape is good but we do not need to be rescuing foreign dogs until we’ve solved our own overcrowding issues in the US and we certainly don’t want dogs coming to the US illegally.

Conclusion

The new dog import rules do seem to address serious concerns around rabies and possibly inadvertently solve other import issues. We’ve discussed previously the potential impact to the breeding programs to the US which you can read here. All of that is still valid but I think with the further context that there are serious health issues and potential illegal imports, the US can figure out a way to manage breeding in the US in a responsible way while respecting the import rules.