New regulations that would have complicated crossing the Canada-US border with a dog have been dialled back.In May, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced restrictive regulations for border crossings with dogs. Those regulations would have come into effect on August 1. In mid-July, however, federal Minister of Health Mark Holland announced the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had engaged with the CDC to ease the requirements. Holland warned that the most recent revised regulations, though now less onerous, “will require Canadians to take on additional planning and costs to satisfy the new requirements. These regulations will also impact Americans returning with their dogs to the US after visiting Canada.” Current regulations require dogs crossing the border to:
- be at least 6 months of age;
- have an ISO-compliant or universally readable microchip;
- appear healthy upon arrival;
A CDC Dog Import Form and receipt is required for all dogs entering the US. Owners must also produce a Canadian export document issued and signed by an authorized Canadian veterinarian with vaccination and microchip information. At press time, the federal government still hopes to negotiate further changes to ease those burdens. Meanwhile, anyone travelling to the US after August 1 with a dog should be aware of these regulations, and that they could change. “We need to inform our members who own sporting dogs about this, so they are prepared to deal with it,” said Dr. Joe Wilson, a retired veterinarian, and chair of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Sporting Dog Advisory Committee.
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