Five-day animal quarantine considered
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
A proposal to create a five-day quarantine for pets brought into Hawai'i is being considered by state veterinarian Dr. James Foppoli.
The five-day quarantine would be a third option for pet owners moving to the state. The shortest of the existing quarantine program allows an animal to be confined 30 days.
State officials have long maintained that a quarantine is needed to ensure that rabies is not introduced into Hawai'i. The quarantine period has been reduced only once — in 1997 — since the program was implemented in 1912.
Foppoli said the Department of Agriculture has wanted to reduce the time but first needed to conduct a risk assessment, which he began in January 2001. The preliminary results of the assessment were favorable, but Foppoli said he is waiting for an independent review due "any day now."
He would like to present his recommendations at the Board of Agriculture's July 18 meeting, but the proposal is at least nine months away from becoming a reality.
"We have no objection to reducing the quarantine period as long as it doesn't increase the risk of rabies," Foppoli said. "It's most likely going to be five days, but there is always a chance that we may pull back to, say, seven days. I don't think it will be less than five days."
A shorter confinement will mean that pet owners planning a move to Hawai'i will have to begin a program of vaccinations and vet-supervised monitoring 180 days before moving instead of the current 90 days.
"The new program would shorten confinement but would lengthen the pre-arrival waiting period, and the net effect is we wouldn't increase risk," Foppoli said. "It is a balance between the two."
The proposal could change before it goes to the board, Foppoli said.
If the board likes the idea, it sends the changes along a complex review process that includes the governor's office, the state departments of Budget and Finance and Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and public hearings.
One critic of the state's quarantine laws say Foppoli's ideas are unacceptable.
"We just found out about his secret proposal," said Chris Quackenbush, spokeswoman for the Community Quarantine Reform Coalition of Hawai'i. "We have reviewed this, and it is the worst regulations on the planet."
Quackenbush, whose group proposed eliminating the 30-day quarantine, said few people will be able to take advantage of a shorter confinement because of the 180-day pre-arrival requirement.
"Not everyone knows they are coming to Hawai'i," said Quackenbush, who has read the draft. "Maybe 1 percent of travelers would have that kind of advance knowledge. He is offering a token to try and fool us all to make us think we are doing something positive."
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.
