File Under: Oh balls!
A Recent CDC rabies rule has just been issued. Pricey pet 'tickets' and limits on animals in airline cabins are making traveling with a pet more expensive and complicated.
A traveler with her dog at LAX. New, and sometimes confusing, rules have made some travelers think twice before flying with their pets.
Credit | Etienne Laurent/EPA, via Shutterstock
There has been a ban on the import of dogs into the United States from 113 countries. The ban applies to foreign dogs as well as any who are traveling with American owners and re-entering the country after a trip abroad.
The ban, which went into full effect on Oct. 14, is intended to prevent animals at high risk of rabies from entering the country. After the pandemic surge in dog adoptions, it has led to a spike in falsified health documents from international pet importers.
The CDC ruling has arrived at a time when pet owners are already navigating new restrictions on pet travel in the airplane for the upcoming holidays. The pandemic, with its vaccine mandates and test requirements, has made air travel difficult and even more so now for our furry friends.
The CDC says it has intervened in more than 450 dog importations with falsified documents or incomplete rabies shots. Since then, it has begun issuing a small number of permits to dogs coming to the United States from high-risk countries, like Guatemala, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, among other places.
Before the ban, the United States was the laxest country to send a pet into, said Mandy O'Connell, region director for North America for the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association.
The importation of even one rabid dog is highly dangerous because rabies is nearly as fatal in people and animals once symptoms appear.
For more specific details on the rules and new regs, NYT has all the deets you need to travel safely.
