Hawaiian Pet Quarantine Regulations Changed

by Amanda Katz and Sarah Wahlert

Regulations that under certain circumstances allow cats and dogs to be brought into Hawaii without being quarantined went into effect on Monday.

All dogs and cats entering the state had since 1912 been required to be placed in quarantine for at least 30 days.

The new regulations call for "direct airport release" and the owner to be charged a fee of $165 if documents showing that the animal has been microchipped, given tick prevention treatment, vaccinated against rabies at least twice, proven via testing not to have the disease at least 120 days prior to arrival and issued a health certificate are submitted 10 or more days in advance. If the documents are presented upon arrival or less than 10 days in advance, the animal will be quarantined for as many as five days and the owner will be charged a fee of $224.

If the owner has not obtained all of the necessary documents, the animal will be quarantined for at least 30 days.

The new regulations were prompted not only by complaints from cat and dog owners who did not like being separated from their pets for periods of as many as 120 days, but testimony offered at a Hawaii Board of Agriculture hearing indicating that animals were receiving poor treatment at quarantine facilities.

Some individuals have expressed concern that the regulations will lead to rabies being brought to Hawaii, the only state in the United States in which the disease is not found. However, Board of Agriculture Chairperson Sandra Lee Kunimoto believes that "adequate safeguards to prevent the introduction of rabies into the state" have been provided.

Animals from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and other rabies-free countries remain exempt from quarantine.

"I support the changes, but feel even more can be done," said Community Quarantine Coalition of Hawaii founder Chris Quackenbush.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.