Source: https://www.petexpress.lk/news-and-events.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 23:15:29+00:00

Document:
The United States (US) is one of the most pet friendly countries in the world. Dog passports need only to document proof of rabies vaccination at least 30 days prior to entering the country.
CDC regulations require that dogs imported into the United States are healthy and are vaccinated against rabies before arrival into the United States. These requirements apply equally to all dogs, including puppies and service animals.
If your dog is imported from a rabies-free country, CDC does not require rabies vaccination. However, every state requires that dogs be vaccinated against rabies, and all pet dogs arriving in the state of Hawaii and the territory of Guam, even from the U.S. mainland, are subject to locally imposed quarantine requirements depending on their rabies vaccination status.
Dogs may be denied entry if they look like they are sick with a communicable disease or if proof of a valid rabies vaccination is not provided. If a dog appears to be sick at the port of entry, further examination by a licensed veterinarian at the dog owner's expense might be required. See International Travel with Your Pet for more information.
Rabies vaccination is required for all dogs entering the United States from a country where rabies is present. Dogs that have never been vaccinated against rabies must be vaccinated at least 30 days prior to arrival. Adult dogs older than 15 months of age that have previously received a rabies vaccination given no earlier than 3 months of age and that has since expired may be imported immediately following booster vaccination, without the need to wait for 30 days.
These requirements apply to all dogs, including service animals such as guide dogs for the blind. Puppies must not be vaccinated against rabies before 3 months of age, so the youngest that a puppy can be imported into the United States is 4 months of age.
They meet the criteria specified in the Issuance and Enforcement Guidance for Dog Confinement Agreements.
Importing a puppy purchased outside of the United States does not meet the criteria for a confinement agreement. Importers are expected to exhaust all other reasonable options for delaying the importation of dogs until they are fully vaccinated against rabies before being considered for a confinement agreement. Unvaccinated dogs that arrive in the United States from countries that are not considered rabies-free may be denied entry to the United States and returned to the country of origin at the importer’s expense. Questions about importing unvaccinated dogs may be directed to CDC at CDCAnimalImports@cdc.gov.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) published its Final Rule "updating" the regulations implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The 31 pages of changes update U.S. regulations to "bring them in line" with resolutions adopted during the last two Conferences of the Parties COP14 and COP15).
The new regulations become effective June 26, 2014.
For anyone involved with CITES listed species, PIJAC recommends that they review the changes. Violations of CITES as well as implementing regulations may result in significant civil or criminal sanctions under the Lacey Act.
Part 17: Endangered Species Act (ESA): Clarifies regulatory overlaps with ESA and CITES listed species covered in Part 23.
Definitions: "Bred for noncommercial purposes" §23.2 by deleting "and is conducted between facilities that are involved in a cooperative conservation program" and delete definition of "Cooperative conservation program".
Definitions: "Corals" with respect to "coral (dead)," "coral fragments," "coral (live)," and "coral sand" in §23.5.
Definition: "Introduction from the sea" Part 23.5.
Definition: "Ranched wildlife" in Parts §23.5 and 23.34.
"Documents for the export of Appendix I wildlife and plants" §23.18 and §23.19 - includes decision trees. Note: See discussion regarding Source Codes.
"Validity of CITES documents" §23.26 - adds 3 additional standards.
"Registration of a commercial breeding operation for Appendix I wildlife" §23.46 in addition to changes to Annual Reports; definitional changes for "parental stock" and "founder stock."
Having moved two cats and a dog from Indiana to Ireland, I can tell you that moving pets by airline is much more complicated than moving people. But beyond the misconceptions, red tape, and logistics, the benefits of having our furry friends with us far outweighs any hassles.
When people think about trusting their pets to an airline, horror stories leap to mind. Thankfully, reality is far more benign. Phillip Grant of Pet Travel tells us “Literally millions of pets travel each year by plane without incident.” The other big fear is quarantine. While many countries have quarantine restrictions, thanks to modern vaccination, testing, and documentation standards, most have relaxed their quarantine requirements. With microchipping, and painstaking adherence to country-specific protocols, quarantine can often be greatly reduced or eliminated.
As a result, pre-trip facilitation is necessary to gather required health documents certifying that pets are healthy enough to travel, disease free (principally from rabies), and can be properly identified through a tiny microchip inserted under their skin. The exact sequence of microchipping, vaccination, testing, and documentation is critical, and insures that each animal’s health records are consistent and tied to their microchip.
Ultimately, the most dangerous parts of airline pet travel are flight connections, when pets could be left in luggage carts or closed rooms without climate control. For this reason, the best thing we can do for our pets in transit is to fly direct.
Rest assured that if your relocation contractor and airline ensure that live cargo are kept in climate controlled areas when not onboard, that they’re the last items loaded and the first taken off, and if you’ve prepared properly (see below), healthy pets should have few problems on board.
Finally, If you are stressed, your pet will be too. So give yourself plenty of time to do everything and get where you need to go on travel day.
And once you land and pick up your pet, some anxiety and adjustment are to be expected. But with adequate preparation, kennel practice beforehand, patience, love and understanding, separation anxiety and stress may never be an issue, and you’ll have your well-adjusted companion by your side wherever life takes you.
For domestic flights, airlines and local governments generally require far less in the way of documentation,inoculation and testing. However, owners will still be required to provide a recent health certificate certifying that their pet(s) are healthy enough to travel. But unless they are traveling to Hawaii, or another “domestic” location with a fragile environment or heavily regulated agricultural industry, the concerns for animal transport within any given country are generally far less than those for international transport.
Plan on microchipping your pet. Even if the local authorities don’t require it, it’s quite beneficial. If they get lost, it’s the most reliable way to get them back. But make sure you have them chipped with the proper chip type for your destination.
In our case, our pets were already chipped with a 10-digit US chip. Unless we wanted to buy a US scanner and take it with us, we had to have them re-chipped with a 15-digit chip. These chips are commonly available, and most veterinarians should have little trouble sourcing them. Because the old chips cannot be removed, and it’s important that the chips not interfere with each other, when “double chipping” make sure that the veterinarian positions the second chip well away from the first.
But the most important thing owners must do when microchipping is to ensure that the chip registry is always up to date. It’s pointless to have your pet microchipped if the authorities cannot contact you when your pet gets picked up and scanned.
Just as we like to stretch our legs and get some air during a long flight, pets like to make inflight adjustments on their own behalf. For this reason, they should not be sedated during flight. As much as we worry about them getting stressed, the bigger danger is that sedation may cause breathing issues, dehydration, and leave the animal unable to right themselves during turbulence, etc.
If your pet needs regular medication, make sure the airline or pet relocation specialist is clear on when, what, and how to administer it. Also, be sure to get an extra supply from your vet so you’ll have enough for quarantine, and enough to last until you locate a new vet at your destination.
Most airlines require that pets travel in an IATA (The International Air Transport Association – www.iata.org) approved kennel, meant to ensure sturdiness of construction, proper ventilation, and adequate room for the animal to orient themselves in transit.
Additionally, Sally B. Smith of IPATA (the International Pet and Animal Transportation Organization – www.ipata.org) reminds us that it’s important to “Acclimate the pet (dogs at least) to the crate ahead of time. Put the dog in for 5 minutes, (and then) let him out. Increase the time and then start leaving him while you run errands, etc. Put the crate in the car and let him ride around. She finds that “cats only stress over being put in and out of the crate”, so she doesn’t recommend it for them.
While in-kennel food in transit is not recommended, water is a must. Again, consult with your airline or relocation specialist, but one trick that served us well was buying extra clip-on water bowls that you can fill with water and freeze beforehand. These can be hooked inside the kennel just before flight, where they’ll thaw over time, giving the animal access to water without spilling immediately.
If your pet is lucky enough to travel with you in the passenger cabin, you’ll still need to contact the airline ahead of time, as they’ll have requirements for the type of carrier you use, and what you can and can’t take aboard.

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