Pet quarantine eased
| • | Pets get all decked out for walk |
By Allison Schaefers
Advertiser Staff Writer
Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday signed an administrative rule change that relaxes the state's pet quarantine system, making it easier for out-of-state pet owners to bring their pets into Hawai'i and for kama'aina pet owners to travel outside the state.
Advertiser library photo
The rule change shortens the quarantine confinement for pets that meet requirements before they get here, reducing the stay to five days or less rather than the present 30- to 120-day quarantine. The governor signed the order yesterday amid cheers from thousands of pet owners at the Hawaiian Humane Society's annual Petwalk at Magic Island.
"As science changed, it became obvious that we could make this change," Gov. Linda Lingle said.
State officials have enforced a quarantine since 1912 to ensure that rabies is not introduced into Hawai'i, the only state free of the disease. Till now, the confinement period was reduced only once — in 1997, when a 30-day option began.
The main fear has been that a rabid pet could come in contact with a mongoose or other feral animal, spreading the disease in the wild.
Under the new rules that take effect June 30, Hawai'i residents for the first time will be able to travel with their pets and return to the Islands without their animals being quarantined.
The regulation changes were hailed by many pet owners such as Kit Buettner of Kahala, who criticized the previous system as an emotional and financial burden. She said the old law kept her from visiting the Mainland for the past 18 years.
"I just couldn't leave my pets," said Buettner, who is planning to visit Las Vegas soon thanks to the new rules.
The rule change will affect many people's lives, Lingle said.
To qualify for a five-day pet quarantine, owners must prepare at least four months in advance. • Pets will need a microchip implanted for identification. • The pet will need a rabies shot and a booster, which can be no less than three months apart and not more than one year apart. • Animals should have passed a blood serum test, with results e-mailed to Hawai'i officials by the testing lab. Pets cannot enter the state till 120 days after the blood sample is received by the state. • Hawai'i officials must receive a health certificate from the pet's veterinarian at least 10 days before the animal's arrival. The state requires an original health certificate. • At the airport, animal quarantine officials will inspect every incoming pet, check its chip to confirm its identity and release the animal to its owner if everything is in order. • On the Web: The Hawai'i Department of Agriculture has published a checklist for pet owners on the department's Web site: www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa
"We were able to devise a system that allows pets to enter the state without quarantine and still provide the Islands with a high level of protection from the introduction of rabies," she said.
New quarantine rules
Lingle, who experienced the downside of a lengthy quarantine system in 1975 while bringing her pet cockapoo, Spooky, into the state, said she has long been an advocate for change.
But changes in the quarantine rules had to be balanced against concerns from those who stressed the importance of keeping Hawai'i rabies-free, Lingle said.
"As science changed, it became obvious that we could make this change," she said.
The state Board of Agriculture voted in April to approve the changes.
Veterinarian Isaac Maeda, program manager at the state's rabies quarantine branch, has said a department analysis last year showed that reducing quarantine to five days "does not substantially increase the risk of introducing rabies into the state," as long as the program includes proper rabies vaccination, blood tests and a 120-day waiting period before animals arrive.
The five-day quarantine, which goes into effect June 30, will be a third option for bringing pets to the state. Under the new program, pets that meet state criteria may be released from the airport directly to their owners or stay a maximum of five days at the quarantine station.
To have a pet released at the airport, an owner would also have to provide documentation 10 days before arrival that the other requirements had been met.
Pet owners hoping for shorter confinement of their animals upon arrival must present proof that their animal has had two rabies vaccinations, microchip implantation for identification and clean results of blood serum tests. Quarantine costs for the reduced confinement program will be $165 if the pet qualifies for direct release from the airport and $224 if the pet must be held for up to five days.
Officials estimate that half of the pets arriving in Hawai'i — 4,681 were brought in last year — would be eligible for the shorter quarantine. The rest would be subject to existing rules, which call for 30-day confinement at a cost of $655 if immunization and testing requirements are met or, otherwise, 120 days at a cost of $1,080.
The prospect of shorter separations of pets and owners was met with cheers by people such as Scott and Lynn Leith, who said that for military families like themselves, lengthy pet quarantines are a financial and emotional hardship.
"It basically turns into a tax for people moving in and out of the state," Scott Leith said. "It's just one more hardship for families."
Correction: The state requires an original health certificate from a pet's veterinarian as part of the process to qualify for the five-day quarantine. A previous version of this story incorrectly said the certificate could be e-mailed.
