Yesterday, the American Kennel Club (AKC) submitted a comment in support of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) proposed formalization of requirements that have been in place since August 2021 for the importation of live dogs for resale, whether through retail or wholesale channels or fee-based adoption, from regions where African Swine Fever (ASF) exists or is reasonably believed to exist.
Click here to read AKC’s comment to USDA APHIS.
ABOUT ASF
While not a threat to human health, ASF is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and feral swine of all ages, leading to extremely high rates of morbidity and mortality. ASF can be transmitted via dogs’ fur and bedding.
Currently, ASF exists or is believed to exist in the following regions and countries: The continent of Africa; Armenia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Brazil; Bulgaria; Burma; Cambodia; China; Croatia; Cuba; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Dominican Republic; Estonia; any restricted zone in the European Union (EU) or Northern Ireland established by the EU, or any EU Member State or Northern Ireland because of detection of ASF; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Greece ; Haiti; Hong Kong; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Ireland; Italy; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxembourg; North Korea; South Korea; Laos; Malaysia; Malta; Mauritius; Moldova; Mongolia; Nepal; Netherlands; North Macedonia; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russia; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Taiwan; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Ukraine; United Kingdom; and Vietnam.
WHAT’S REQUIRED
A U.S. importer must obtain an APHIS Animal Care Import permit for dog(s) intended for resale and satisfy all import requirements. Dogs imported for resale must also meet all of the following APHIS Veterinary Services (VS) import requirements:
- Dog(s) and their shipping crate/container must be free of dirt, wood shavings, hay, straw, or any other organic/natural bedding material.
- All bedding that accompanies the dog(s) during transit must be properly disposed of at the post-entry point(s) of concentration in a way that prevents introduction or spread of ASF.
- Dog(s) must have a microchip that meets APHIS-approved standards, and the microchip number must be verified immediately before the animal is bathed. This is a proposed technical change that will provide APHIS with flexibility to make changes to the list of acceptable identification that will not require a separate rulemaking process.
- Dog(s) must be bathed at the U.S. post-entry point(s) of concentration within two calendar days of arrival, to be documented on the VS Dog Import Record.
Both parts of the APHIS VS Dog Import Record must be completed and submitted for each shipment of imported dog(s) intended for resale. Additionally, the VS Dog Import Record verifying the completion of all APHIS VS import requirements for every dog in the shipment must be submitted to APHIS within two business days following the dogs’ entry into the U.S.
WANT MORE INFORMATION?
AKC Government Relations (AKC GR) will continue to provide updates on this and other federal and state regulatory proposals, including posts to our Regulatory Resources Page on AKC’s Legislative Action Center. For more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.