犬貓輸入檢疫作業辦法

This set of regulations is established pursuant to Article 34-1 paragraph 1 of the “Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease”.

1Terms used in this set of regulations are defined as follows:

21.Rabies-free countries/zones and rabies-infected countries/zones: these are referred to the "List of Infectious Animal Diseases-free and Disease Infected Countries (Zones)" promulgated by the competent authority of this Country pursuant to Article 33 of the “ Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease ”.

32.The inactivated vaccine: a vaccine made from killed viruses ( 　 or bacteria) and biotechnology-derived subunit antigens, killed 　 viruses, killed bacteria, recombinant protein or un-replicable 　 gene vectors.

43.The disaster: it is referred to Article 2 of "Disaster Prevention and Protection Act".

54.The authorities of disaster prevention and protection: they are 　 the Central Regulating Authorities which is referred to the Articles 3 of "Disaster Prevention and Protection Act", and the Regulating Authorities which is referred to the Article 4 of " Disaster Prevention and Protection Act".

65.The rescue dog: the dog is trained to assist in search and rescue in the disaster area.

76.The visually impaired: the people defined by the item 2 of Article 5 of “ People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act ”.

87.The guide dog: the dog is referred to the “ regulations of qualification and management for the guide dogs and puppies ”, or the dog with certificate which is issued by the training agency approved by the International Guide Dog Federation.

1The dog or cat for importation shall meet the following requirements:

21.The dog or cat is at least 90 days old; and

32.The dog or cat shall have been vaccinated with inactivated vaccines against rabies within the time period between 30 days to 1 year prior to shipment.

43.When the dog or cat is imported from rabies-infected countries/ zones, it shall be subjected to rabies neutralization antibody titer test. 　 The date of blood sampling shall be within the time period between 180 days to 1 year prior to shipment. The test shall be done by the rabies reference laboratories of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) or the laboratories designated by the animal quarantine authority of this Country. The laboratories shall issue the report attesting that the titer of rabies neutralization antibody is at least 0.5IU/ml. If the blood sampling has been done before export of the dog or cat from this Country, the time requirement of blood sampling of at least 180 days prior to the importation can be exempted.

1The importer shall apply for the import permit for the dog or cat from animal quarantine authority at the port of entry at least 20 days prior to shipment. 　 It is not applicable to the importer who has applied for the import permit prior to the previous exportation of the dog or cat from this Country.

2Before importing the dog or cat from rabies-infected countries/zones, the importer shall apply for the post-entry quarantine space in the quarantine facility to the animal quarantine authority at the port of entry. 　 Until the quarantine space is secure, the dog or cat will not be allowed to enter. 　 When the competent authorities of disaster prevention and protection import rescue dogs or the visually impaired import their corresponding guide dogs from a rabies-infected country/zone, they may apply to the animal quarantine authority for these dogs to be quarantined at designated premises referred to as stated in paragraph 2 of Article 34-1 of the “ Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease ”.

1Applying for an import permit, the importer shall submit a completed application form and photocopies of the following documents:

21.Veterinarian-issued certificate of vaccination against rabies is indeed inactivated vaccine;

32.Civil identification card of the importer. If the importer is not a resident and thus not registered in Taiwan, the other personal identification documents shall be provided;

43.The certificates or other proving documents of visual impairment and the certificates of the guide dog, only applicable to the import of the guide dogs by the visually impaired; and

54.The report of rabies neutralization antibody titer test which is in compliance with item 3 of Article 3, only applicable to the dog or cat from rabies-infected country/zones.

6The rabies vaccination certificate shall be in Chinese or English and state the breed, sex, age, microchip number and date of vaccination.

7If the documents are not in compliance with paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 of this Article or the rabies vaccination is not in compliance with item 2 of Article 3, the import permit shall not be issued.

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Upon arrival of the dog or cat at the port of entry, the importer shall apply to the animal quarantine authority for quarantine inspection and submit the original import permit, original veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country, photocopy of bill of lading, photocopy of airway bill or custom declaration form.

1For importation of the dog or cat from rabies-infected countries /zones, the veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country shall state the following information in Chinese or English:

21.The series number of the import permit (otherwise the photocopy of the import permit shall be provided);

32.Breed, sex, age, and microchip number of the dog or cat;

43.Date of vaccination against rabies, which is in compliance with item 2 of Article 3;

54.No clinical signs of rabies shown upon inspection of the dog or cat; and

65.The result of the rabies neutralization antibody titer test which shall be at least 0.5 IU/ml, date of sampling and name of laboratory. Otherwise the original report of rabies neutralization antibody titration test shall be provided.

1For importation of the dog or cat from rabies-free countries/zones, the veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country shall state the following information in Chinese or English:

21.The series number of import permit (otherwise the photocopy of the import permit shall be provided);

32.Breed, sex, age, and microchip number of the dog or cat;

43.Date of vaccination against rabies, which is in compliance with item 2 of Article 3;

54.No clinical sign of rabies shown upon inspection of the dog or cat;

65.No case of rabies in the exporting country for the past 2 years; and

76.The dog or cat has been raised in the exporting country continuously for at least 6 months prior to shipment or since birth.

1In response to the needs of rescue during a disaster in this Country, the importation of rescue dogs under the permission of the authorities of disaster prevention and protection is not subject to the requirements of item 2 and item 3 of Article 3, and Article 4 to Article 8.

2Before importing a rescue dog, the importer shall submit to animal quarantine authority at the port of entry an application, the photocopies of the rabies vaccination certificate and the import permit from the competent authorities of disaster prevention and protection. Post-entry quarantine shall be exempted for a rescue dog imported from or transshipped through rabies-infected countries/zones.

3On arrival of a rescue dog at the port of entry, the importer shall apply to the animal quarantine authority for quarantine inspection and submit the original veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country. 　 If the rescue dog passes quarantine inspection, the animal quarantine authority at the port of entry will issue the import veterinary certificate. 　 The original veterinary certificate shall state the following information in Chinese or English:

41.Breed, sex, age and microchip number of the rescue dog;

52.Dates of rabies vaccination with inactivated vaccines; and

63.No clinical sign of rabies shown upon inspection of the rescue dog. After the rescue dog is imported, if necessary, the animal inspection authority of the prefecture in the disaster area and the animal quarantine authority may send officers to inspect the rescue dog.

1When the rescue dog or guide dog is scheduled for re-import within 3 months after being exported from this Country, the importer shall submit an application and the photocopy of the export veterinary certificate of this Country to the animal quarantine authority at the port of entry for a import permit application. The requirements of Article 3, paragraph 1 of Article 4, and Article 5 to Article 8 shall be exempted for such dogs.

2Upon arrival of such rescue dog or guide dog at the port of entry, the importer shall apply to the animal quarantine authority for quarantine inspection and submit a photocopy of the export veterinary certificate of this Country and the original veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country.

3The original veterinary certificate mentioned in paragraph 2 of this Article shall state the following information in Chinese or English:

41.Breed, sex, age, and microchip number of the rescue dog or guide dog.

52.No clinical sign of rabies shown upon inspection of the rescue dog or guide dog.

6When the rescue dog or guide dog mentioned in the first paragraph of this Article is imported from rabies-infected countries/zones or transshipped through rabies-infected countries/zones, a post-entry quarantine period of 21 days is required. The post-entry quarantine may be exempted if the requirements of Article 3 are met.

1For re-import of the dog or cat that has been exported from this Country to a rabies-free countries/zones for less than 6 months, the importer shall apply for an import permit at least 20 days prior to shipment and submit an application with the photocopy of documents referred in paragraph 1 of Article 5 and the photocopy of the export veterinary certificate of this Country to the animal quarantine authority at the port of entry.

2The importer shall also apply for quarantine inspection on arrival of the re-imported dog or cat in accordance with Article 6. The veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of the exporting country which is accompanied with the re-imported dog or cat shall be in compliance with item1 to item 5 of Article 8, and attest that "The dog (cat) never traveled to a third country since it arrived in this Country".

When making quarantine inspection of the dog or cat imported from rabies-infected countries/zones, animal quarantine authority at the port of entry shall check the veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country and detain the dog or cat at the designated post-entry quarantine premises for 21 days. The animal quarantine authority should not issue an import veterinary certificate until the dog or cat is confirmed free from suspicion of any infectious animal diseases.

1The following are applicable to the dog or cat imported from rabies-infected countries/zones:

21.If the dog or cat is not accompanied with an original veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country, it shall be detained at the port of entry until the correct certificate is provided before due date, otherwise the dog or cat shall be rejected or destroyed.

32.If the information attested in the veterinary certificate is not in compliance with item 2 to item 5 of Article 7, the dog or cat shall be detained at the port of entry until the correct information is provided before the due date, otherwise the dog or cat shall be rejected, detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premises for 180 days or destroyed.

43.If the rabies vaccination is not in compliance with item 2 of Article 3, the dog or cat shall be rejected, given a booster vaccination with one dose of inactivated rabies vaccine and detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premises for 30 days, or destroyed.

54.If the date of blood sampling for rabies neutralization antibody titer test is less than 180 days prior to shipment, the dog or cat shall be rejected, detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premises for 180 days or destroyed.

65.If the dog or cat is not implanted with a microchip, it shall be rejected, destroyed or implanted with a microchip immediately after arriving at the designated post-entry quarantine premises and detained in the premises for 180 days.

When making quarantine inspection of the dog or cat imported from rabies-free countries/zones, the animal quarantine authority at the port of entry shall check the veterinary certificate. The animal quarantine authority should not issue an import veterinary certificate until the veterinary certificate complies with Article 3 and Article 8, and the dog or cat is confirmed free from suspicion of notifiable infectious animal diseases.

1The following are applicable to the dog or cat imported from rabies-free countries/zones, any violation shall be treated as follows:

21.If the dog or cat is not accompanied with an original veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country, it shall be detained at the port of entry until the correct certificate is provided before the due date, otherwise the dog or cat shall be rejected or destroyed.

32.If the information attested in the veterinary certificate is not in compliance with item 2 to item 6 of Article 8, the dog or cat shall be detained at the port of entry until the correct information is provided before the due date, otherwise the dog or cat shall be rejected, detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premises for 21 day or destroyed.

43.If the dog or cat is transshipped through rabies-infected countries/zones, it shall be in compliance with one of the followings otherwise the dog or cat shall be rejected, detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premises for 21 days or destroyed:

5(1)The cage shall be sealed by the authority of the exporting country, the number or mark of seal shall be attested in the veterinary certificate.

6(2)The importer shall provide the relevant certificate(s) issued by the authority of animal quarantine, custom, airline or shipping company. The certificate shall attest that the dog or cat never leaves the airport or harbor, and never contacts other animals.

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1If the dog or cat imported from rabies-infected countries/zones is under 90 days of age at the time of arrival, it shall be detained for quarantine and given a vaccination against rabies with inactivated vaccine at the age of 90 days. The animal quarantine authority should not issue the import veterinary certificate, until 180 days has elapsed since the vaccination and the dog or cat is confirmed free from suspicion of notifiable infectious animal diseases.

2If the dog or cat imported from rabies-free countries/zones is under 90 days of age at the time of arrival, it shall be detained for quarantine and given a vaccination against rabies with inactivated vaccine at the age of 90 days. The animal quarantine authority should not issue the import veterinary certificate, until 30 days has elapsed since the vaccination and the dog or cat is confirmed free from suspicion of notifiable infectious animal diseases.

1The animal quarantine authority shall designate a quarantine officer to escort the dog or cat to the designated post-entry quarantine premises. The escort may be waived for rescue dogs or guide dogs.

2The animal quarantine authority may delegate the transportation mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article to the relevant organization, agency, or corporation.

3The expenditure for the transportation mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be borne by the importer. If necessary, the importer may provide vehicle for transportation under the approval of the animal quarantine authority.

1The following are applicable to the dogs or cats in the post-entry quarantine premises:

21.The result of the re-test of rabies neutralization antibody titer is less than 0.5 IU/ml, the dog or cat shall be given a boost vaccination.

32.If more than a year has elapsed since last vaccination, the dog or cat shall be given a boost vaccination.

43.If the parturition of imported animals takes place in the post-entry quarantine premises, the maternal animal and her offspring shall be detained together until the vaccination of the offspring is in compliance with item 2 of Article 3, and the detention of maternal animal has met the requirements. The offspring shall be implanted with a microchip before vaccination.

54.If the animal is suffering, or suspected of suffering from infectious animal diseases, the quarantine officer shall take actions immediately.

6If there is suspicion that the dog or cat may be infected with notifiable infectious animal diseases, the detention period shall be extended and the import veterinary certificate should not be issued until suspicion is dissolved.

The costs for detention, medical treatment, sampling/examinations, microchip implantation, vaccination, destroy of the imported dogs or cats and other precautionary measures as deemed necessary during quarantine shall be borne by the importer.

1This set of regulations becomes effective on 1st June 2014.

2(In case of any discrepancy between the English version and the Chinese text of these Requirements, the Chinese text shall govern.)