Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States (US) has declared Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and 107 other countries as high-risk regions for dog imports.
Resultantly, the US has temporarily prohibited dogs from entering the country to tackle rabies. The restriction will be in effect until 31 July 2023.
On its website, CDC has outlined the mandatory documents for all vaccinated dogs in high-risk countries to enter the US. This includes a valid CDC rabies vaccination, microchip record, and a CDC dog import permit or a reservation at a CDC-approved animal care facility.
Foreign-issued pet passports or other certificates for foreign rabies vaccinations will not be accepted by the CDC.
A complete list of high-risk countries is available on CDC’s website. To bring the dog to the US from a high-risk country, the CDC requires mandatory permission, a reservation at an approved animal care facility, or a US-issued rabies vaccination certificate.
This also applies to dogs that have been in a high-risk country in the last six months. The CDC may approve up to two foreign-vaccinated dogs per applicant during the temporary suspension. However, if the CDC denies the request for a dog import permit, there won’t be any appeals allowed.
The CDC stressed that before importing a dog to the US, importers should check other federal regulations as well as the rabies vaccination requirements of state and local governments.
