The board was expected to make its recommendation today after agreeing to hear limited testimony from 12 people. The board already has heard testimony in a series of public hearings on the controversial issue.

The board began hearing today's testimony in late morning.

The existing quarantine programs in Hawai'i allow an animal to be confined for 30 days for a $655 fee, provided immunization and testing requirements are met. If those requirements are not met, the pet must serve the full 120-day quarantine period for $1,080.

Under the proposed rule changes, pet owners would have the option of confining their pets in quarantine for five days after two rabies vaccinations, a blood test and a minimum waiting period of 120 days before arrival in Hawai'i.

Many of those who oppose quarantine feel even a five-day confinement is too long. They said quarantine places an emotional and financial burden on pet owners and that vaccinations provide the state ample protection against rabies and other diseases.

But others say a five-day period is necessary to ensure that animals entering the state have met safety requirements and that the bill would increase the risk of rabies being introduced to the state.

State officials were roundly criticized at the public hearings on the new rules. Pet owners say they're more than willing to pay for the required vaccinations, blood test and an implanted microchip. But they, along with some experts in the field, say the addition of a waiting period is overkill.

"The new rules have a very long observation period, and I do not see the rationale for it," said Becky Rhoades, veterinarian and director of the Kaua'i Humane Society, which runs one of the state's approved quarantine stations. "I feel that vaccinations are very protective and work very well."

But state veterinarian James Foppoli said a specific set of circumstances could put the state at risk for the introduction of rabies. A pet bitten by a rabid bat or skunk a week or so before vaccination could carry the disease but show evidence in a blood test that the inoculation had worked.

The great fear in the Islands is that a rabid animal could come in contact with a mongoose, spreading the disease in the wild.